Sony confirms ‘PlayStation 4.5’. Not showing at this year’s E3, no release date announced
Sony has gone ahead and thrown us an obvious bone, acknowledging the existence and upcoming (sometime!) release of a more-powered PlayStation 4.
Sony’s PlayStation 4 “Neo,” an upgraded version of PlayStation 4 hardware rumored to be aimed at providing an improved VR experience, has finally been officially announced ahead of E3. Sadly, it won’t be at E3, but at least we can all admit it exists now—and we’ve got official (if vague) word from Sony on what it’s all about!
Which is … basically what we already knew, but it’s still nice to get solid confirmation. The upgraded PS4 will sport improved graphics capabilities and 4K video resolution for the hardcore videophiles out there. 4K isn’t exactly standard in most homes yet, but there’s sure to be plenty of gamers who are willing to spend the money—or already have—on an Ultra HD TV to get the best looking games they can.
Graphics upgrades are usually the kind of thing you’d expect out of a completely new hardware generation, but that’s not what the upgraded PS4 aims to be. Sony President and CEO of Interactive Entertainment Andrew House told The Financial Times, “It is intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4. We will be selling both [consoles] through the life cycle.”
The newer console will also be more expensive, with the existing PS4 coming in at a lower price point for consumers who want to play the same games but aren’t concerned about being on the cutting edge of graphics tech. House added, “All games will support the standard PS4 and we anticipate all or a very large majority of games will also support the high-end PS4,” and I have to imagine that he means the majority of games will also support the upgraded capabilities of the high-end PS4, since it wouldn’t make much sense to release a more powerful console and then have games that could only be played on the less powerful one.
It’s kind of a shame the machine won’t make its debut at E3, though, since this is such a huge year for VR, and it provides an improved VR experience for PlayStation 4. Although, VR is something you really have to experience for yourself to fully appreciate, so Sony’s probably not to worried, since E3 isn’t really open to the general public live and in person. Meanwhile, it’ll be interesting to see what Microsoft brings to the table, as rumors are still floating around that they’ll introduce their own new hardware at the show next week.