With the official announcement out, the era of the PlayStation 4 is upon us. What does this mean for sports in video games? Hopefully, with the new social sharing additions and obviously the new controller, Madden, FIFA and NBA2K will be a lot more fun and realistic.

The blank, black touch pad in the center of the controller is going to be interactive to a certain level, but how much? it doesn’t seem big enough to draw plays on “Madden” or select strategies in NBA 2K, but there’s a good chance developers will come up with a way to make good use of the new feature.

The controller’s motion sensor and light bar, which when combined with the stereo camera that comes with every PS4, will work much like Microsoft’s Kinect should have a bigger effect, at least initially. Minor details can make a game feel more interactive and complete, and adding some bumps into a NASCAR game or call for a fake snap in in NCAA to get your friend to flinch is something we’re looking forward to seeing.

Sharing seems to be a whole of a lot easier with the new device – the share button on the controller, which allows players to share videos with friends while their game still continues. If sharing is as easy as Sony made it seem during Wednesday’s presentation, the PS4 is going to be the most social sports gaming experience the world has ever seen, with an option to send a great goal on FIFA to your mates while you’re still playing.

Sony also plans to launch apps for mobile devices and tablets, where gamers can access information about games, view replays and even watch their friends play live. In the future, if the PS4 announcement is any indication, using your phone to help you dive into franchise mode in certain games like Madden or NBA 2K.

Andrew Wilson, the head of EA Sports – We don’t want to make it where the only time you can engage with our game is while you’re sitting in your lounge playing our game. We want you to be able to do stuff on your phone. We want you to be able to do stuff on Facebook. We want you to message, and text, and tweet, and see what’s going on in the virtual world, which for many gamers is as important as what goes on in the real world.

Sony presented the polygon of an old man that displayed emotion and immense detail in his eyes and wrinkles. It was comparable to something you’d see in a CGI film, which obviously doesn’t react to real-time commands. This isn’t the jump we saw from PS2 to PS3, but it’s pretty damn hard, as of now, to improve on today’s console generation graphics. In this next generation, the particulars are likely going to be amped up – more sweat, more blood and more details.

The live mode has been improved as well. You should be able to  to watch your friends play live, just for fun, or to do some scouting on a rival. The PS4 offers the potential to link up and play with your friend in the middle of a game. This means that if you can’t beat Barcelona on FIFA without some online help, you can call your body at halftime. It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it’s possible in the new hardware.

Some other features on the PS4 include compatibility with the PlayStation Vita he ability to play games even as they download and accessibility of a number of well-known applications, like the MLB and NHL apps.

This year, you won’t hear anyone complaining about how sport video games are just a roster update from the previous edition.