Sony Confirms New "High-End" PS4, But Won't Show it at E3

[ffronw]

Sony Confirms New "High-End" PS4, But Won't Show it at E3

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1328/1328347.jpgThe PS4 Neo is real, Sony's Andrew House has confirmed, but we won't see it at E3 this year.

There have been plenty of rumors flying around about a new PS4, and Sony has now confirmed that they are true. Sony president and CEO Andrew House told The Financial Times [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/aca45ff2-2ea0-11e6-bf8d-26294ad519fc.html] that the new machine isn't a replacement for the PS4. Instead, he said, "It is intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4."

House went to say that both versions of the console will be sold throughout the PS4 life cycle, and that the work needed for developers to support both version of the hardware would be minimal. For anyone worried about their current PS4 being phased out, House said that, "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."

Previous rumors [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/167204-New-Details-Emerge-About-PlayStation-4-5] suggested that every PS4 would be able to offer a "NEO Mode" starting in October. Those rumors also pegged the new machine as having a higher CPU higher clock speed, an improved GPU, and higher memory bandwidth.

House wouldn't confirm a price point for the new machine, but did say it would be more expensive than the current unit. He also confirmed that the PlayStation VR headset will work with either version of the console.

Despite all the rumors being true, Sony doesn't plan to show the new PS4 at E3 next week. House said that decision was made be Sony wants "to ensure we have a full range of the best experiences on the new system that we can showcase in their entirety."

You can bet we'll hear more about this machine soon, as it will likely be planned for a holiday release date.

Permalink

 

[SlumlordThanatos]

But can it emulate PS3 games?

The reason the current PS4 can't do it is because it lacks the raw power needed to do so. I have several PS3 games on my PSN account I don't have access to because I foolishly traded my PS3 in, and I'd love to be able to play them again.

I mean, the PS4's biggest current issue is the lack of older games on the PSN, and any step Sony can take to fix that would be a plus in my book.

 

[tippy2k2]

For fucks sake, will Sony and Microsoft stop jerking our chains and just say what the hell the differences will be?

I'd love to get me a PS4 but I'm not about to Apple myself and buy hardware that will become useless or drastically underperform...

 

[Dornedas]

The PS4 was already a supercharged PC so I will be severely disappointed if the NuPS4 isn't at least hypercharged.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Well, fuck. I was holding out.

Thanks for making my PS4 feel even more outdated, Sony. I can't wait for consoles to become like iPhones, buying one every two or three years.

PC, here I come.

 

[J-Dig]

It's tempting to go to PC.

Just put off by compatibility issues and individual parts that cost more than a PS4.

 

[Poetic Nova]

Well.

This seals the deal. I wont bother with future consoles anymore.

 

[Pirate Of PC Master race]

Woooo! Another machine to buy every few years!

Soon, every game players will become master races - or imitation of one.

...Instead, he said, "It is intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4."

I highly doubt that, whoever-you-are. If that is the case, why make the machine at all?

Suckers will be suckers, I suppose.

 

[Leg End]

"It is intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4."

It's the Sega CD all over again isn't it? ISN'T IT?

It's tempting to go to PC.

Just put off by compatibility issues and individual parts that cost more than a PS4.

I introduce you to The Potato Masher, along with the many titles they've tested on it and have found equal or better than console counterparts.

 

[BloodRed Pixel]

The PS4 was already a supercharged PC so I will be severely disappointed if the NuPS4 isn't at least hypercharged.

Gosh, you made me laugh out so hard! Thank you for the joke of the day! ROFL!

PS: And this is how Sony killed the console market.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

I just don't get what the point of this all is; the PS4 (and by extension the current generation) has barely started to get into the swing of things and already they're announcing new SKUs as if they need to jump start something that doesn't exist. But I do find it funny how those rumors about the PS4 Neo (and the XB1.5, if that turns out to be true) started around the time Nintendo announced the NX. It's almost like watching those two make the Move and Kinect again after the Wii's motion controls freaked them out.

 

[JayRPG]

I just don't get what the point of this all is; the PS4 (and by extension the current generation) has barely started to get into the swing of things and already they're announcing new SKUs as if they need to jump start something that doesn't exist. But I do find it funny how those rumors about the PS4 Neo (and the XB1.5, if that turns out to be true) started around the time Nintendo announced the NX. It's almost like watching those two make the Move and Kinect again after the Wii's motion controls freaked them out.

My thoughts exactly.

The rumours being that the NX will be at least slightly more powerful than the PS4 and Xbone, I have no doubt in my mind that these new consoles are being released purely to steal what little thunder Nintendo had.

Either that or they just found the perfect opportunity to saturate the market and pump out more products, they can just play dumb and say "Well, Nintendo did it".

Nintendo announces new console, with a "new concept" and Sony and MS both shit themselves because last time that happened the Wii happened and both of them scrambled to match it, both falling well short of even looking like they were going to catch up with the Wii sales.

 

[Damian Porter]

There is no longer any reason NOT to buy a gaming PC now.

 

[NiPah]

There is no longer any reason NOT to buy a gaming PC now.

The fact that any game without a robust anti cheating system will be useless for multiplayer is one reason.
I love my PC, but there are issues with the platform, the N64 expansion port didn't kill consoles, and an upgraded PS4 won't either.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Wait...it's supposed to sit alongside my current PS4? So you guys expected me to pay for the console a SECOND time, while my first one will still work and do everything just fine? Ha, nope.

Now if this one can play old games, like PlayStation, PS2, and maybe PS3, then I'll THINK about it, like when my current PS4 dies. But unless I suddenly come into an insane amount of money, there is no way I'm buying a second PS4 while I still have my first one.

 

[EndlessSporadic]

For anyone worried about their current PS4 being phased out, House said that, "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."

This makes me think that Sony is making a requirement such that "In order to distribute your game on the PS4 (new or classic) you must ensure the game is compliant with PS4 'classic' standards." This may mean that the download size of PS4 games and the amount of data on a disk will drastically increase since a game needs to compile the assets for both versions. If this is actually the case, then then amount of work a developer must to do make it compliant on both consoles really would be minimal, especially if Sony doesn't mess it up and makes it as easy as polling a bool getter in the API.

if (PlayStationAPIFacade::IsNewPS4()) {
DoNewThing();
} else {
DoClassicThing();
}

 

[Naldan]

And suddenly they find themselves competing with smartphones. Smartphones seem to be smarter than those people.


What a clusterfuck. Am I happy that I passed this generation entirely on consoles.

 

[Spider RedNight]

Oh c'mon, I just GOT an awesome fully functional PS4. I don't want or need a different one :c

Mmmmaybe it's a bluff and they won't actually release it?

 

[shrekfan246]

*sigh*

Anybody know how well this market plan has worked out for the New 3DS?

There is no longer any reason NOT to buy a gaming PC now.

I mean, if you get a keyboard that can connect to it, for all intents and purposes the PS4 is a PC. It's far more limited because it's running Sony's proprietary OS so it doesn't have access to a lot of PC applications that are meant for non-gaming activities, and it doesn't have access to third-party distribution platforms like Steam or Origin and can't play PC exclusive titles, but then many "PC" games still can't play natively on Mac or Linux either. But with all of the media integration stuff they've been pumping into these systems since the PS2/Xbox first hit the scene, there really isn't much of an appreciable difference between consoles and PCs anymore (especially with game installations on consoles).

I wonder if the comparison could/should be made to SteamOS or those Steambox things that baffled everyone a few years ago, both of which appear to have quietly been abandoned from what I've seen and heard (though the controller appears to be at least moderately successful).

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

My thoughts exactly.

The rumours being that the NX will be at least slightly more powerful than the PS4 and Xbone, I have no doubt in my mind that these new consoles are being released purely to steal what little thunder Nintendo had.

Either that or they just found the perfect opportunity to saturate the market and pump out more products, they can just play dumb and say "Well, Nintendo did it".

Nintendo announces new console, with a "new concept" and Sony and MS both shit themselves because last time that happened the Wii happened and both of them scrambled to match it, both falling well short of even looking like they were going to catch up with the Wii sales.

And of course MS and Sony don't have the kind of first party portfolio and mascots Nintendo do. MS has as bigger financial cushion than Nintendo does (but there's only so long that MS is going to take losses on the XBox division) but Sony really doesn't as they're still billions in the red. This whole thing just confirms that Sony's dominance during the PS4 reveal wasn't due to the smart planning or business acumen but because they got lucky.