Hast thou felt it?  The collective wind of eager anticipation, the aria of excitement not seen in ages.  All emanating from one of the worst kept secrets in the video game industry -- the PlayStation 4. 

They did manage to keep a few things under wraps to prolong the suspense.  First off, we don't even know what it LOOKS like; apart from the touchy-feely Dual Shock 4 controllers and a Kinect-like sensor bar for motion-based games.  We caught a glimpse of the system's performance through several trailers of upcoming launch titles. While not expecially mind-blowing, it was admittedly quite impressive enough to cast a shadow over the aging PlayStation 3.  We gathered crucial bits of info about the PS4---such as the fact that it reportedly won't blocked used games as initially feared, but it won't support backwards-compatibility with PS3 games either.  We still have yet to know a price point, the official release date and the design of the console itself.  I suspect such things would be revealed at this year's E3.

Over the course of the next several months), I'm going to be studying the PS4 like a wheat germ under a high-powered microscope.  Typically, I get excited over new consoles because they're a step-up from the ones before, but I always felt the PS3 just about tipped the plateau of what was humanly possible in console performance.  High definition brought crystal clear images, and frame rates have improved considerably to allow for smoother gaming experiences.  Heavy Rain pushed the limits of the PS3, inspiring third-parties and competitors to challenge themselves in creating an incredibly life-like experience using current-gen technology.  But soon, the PS4 will succeed the PS3, boasting an impressive AMD next-generation Radeon GPU and a CPU 8 core "Jaguar" AMD.  That's roughly comparable to the current round of well-equipped PCs.  Might Sony be able to push things further than what we thought they had achieved with the PS3?  Would there even be a need for a PlayStation 5?

Who knows?  Performance and specs aside, the games are what really matter at this point.  Still, it's hard to ignore what the PS4 can do with its hardware.

Are you guys excited about the PS4?  Weigh in with your thoughts.