PS4.5 NEO: What we know about PS4K
Update: A new report from The Wall Street Journal claims that Sony has not one, but two new consoles coming in 2016. According to a Sony insider, the company plans to unveil both a PlayStation Neo and new PlayStation 4 Slim at the Tokyo Game Show on September 15, 2016.
We can only speculate the purpose of the PlayStation Slim, as the source doesn’t enumerate what features the system will have, but it’s fair to assume that like the Xbox One S it will likely not only have a smaller physical footprint, but possibly come with a 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray player as well.
Original article continues below…
It’s official, the PS4.5, codenamed NEO, is coming. The news was confirmed by Sony executive Andrew House who also said that the console will play both games and video in 4K resolution, and that it will be supported by “all or a very large majority of games.” It’s really happening.
Seven years passed between the release of the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, and while the last generation ran a bit longer than usual, buying a game console typically means you’re set for at least a good few years. So why would Sony release an upgraded PS4 after just three years?
That’s the question that has a lot of PlayStation fans scratching their heads right now. However, Sony really does plan on launching a more powerful version of the console that can run games at 4K resolution and amp up the immersion for PlayStation VR experiences. Depending on which report you read, it’s being called the PlayStation 4.5 or PlayStation 4K, and Sony may be using “Neo” as a codename.
However, there’s some good news: this upgrade isn’t a replacement, but rather another option for gamers who want to spend extra cash for an enhanced experience. Sony executive Andrew House has confirmed that the PlayStation 4.5 will exist alongside the common PS4, and all games going forward will work across both versions.
Sound appealing? Here’s what we know so far.
Why another PS4?
The PlayStation 4 is the most powerful game console on the market today, but after two and a half years on the market, it’s handily beaten by a capable gaming PC. As tech advances at an increasingly rapid rate, Sony is reportedly eager to offer an enhanced version of the PlayStation 4 that will offer a bit more processing power and speed to enable even grander and better-looking experiences.
One reason is to support 4K Ultra HD resolution for gaming. While the PS4 can run 4K video footage, it’s not able to handle interactive games at that incredibly crisp resolution. Supposedly, the PlayStation 4.5 will be built to allow games to run at 4K – for people who have a 4K television, of course. That might be a small number now, but it’s growing steadily; and an upgraded PS4 might help sell Sony’s 4K sets like the Sony XBR-X930D/KD-XD9305, to boot.
Another reason Sony wants to put a little more power on the table is for the PlayStation VR headset, which will release on October 16, 2016. Both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets require a high-end PC to operate, but the PS4 does VR with comparably less power. However, in a VR world, silky-smooth performance is crucial to ensure full immersion. With the PS4.5, developers should be able to tap into the newer hardware to enhance their VR experiences.
These suspicions were further fueled when in an interview with EDGE magazine an industry insider said that PlayStation VR was going to be “terrible” on launch PS4s, creating the need for an enhanced console to offer a better VR experience.
What’s inside?
According to a report from Giant Bomb, sources indicate that the PlayStation 4.5 will sport some speeder components. The CPU is said to utilize 8 Jaguar Cores running at 2.1 Ghz apiece (as opposed to 1.6 Ghz in the original PS4), while an upgraded AMD GPU should offer extra graphical muscle with 36 compute units at 911 MHz compared to 18 CU at 800 MHz in the earlier model.
The transfer speed on the 8GB GDDR5 RAM will also bump up to 218 GB/sec from 176 GB/sec. Don’t know what that all means? Don’t worry: more processing power and faster speeds mean the PlayStation NEO will be able to handle higher-resolution output, manage more textures and details onscreen, and generally provide a smoother play experience overall.
The report says that while the PlayStation 4.5 will allow for 4K gaming output, Sony won’t require it to be natively supported. In other words, if a developer opts to stick with 1080p and put that processing power into other graphical or performance areas rather than resolution, that’s fine: the image will be upscaled for anyone with a 4K set anyway.
Frame rate is apparently a larger concern for Sony, with a mandate that games on the PlayStation 4.5 must have an equal or higher frame rate than the standard PS4 version. That way, developers don’t sacrifice visual fluidity in favor of a sharper resolution.
How will games work?
Here’s the reportedly good news: while there’s no word of any sort of upgrade kit for the current PlayStation 4, at least existing owners don’t have to worry about exclusive games that are only designed for the PlayStation 4.5. It’s not happening.
That’s according to the Giant Bomb report, which claims that Sony has mandated that all games for the PlayStation 4 platform must work on both the new and old consoles. Games for the new hardware can feature enhanced graphics, of course, as well as some expanded functionality, but they cannot feature exclusive play modes or split the online servers between consoles. Furthermore, the system’s interface should look and act exactly the same on the new box.
The report notes that Sony will require games to feature a “Base Mode” for the original PS4 console and a “Neo Mode” for the PS4.5, both of which you’ll find in the same release. You’ll get the same core play experience on either console, although with the Neo Mode on the new hardware, you’ll see enhanced graphics and perhaps other perks as well.
Andrew House further elaborated on this functionality by saying that “all or a very large majority of games will also support the high-end PS4.” This suggests that while all PS4 games will run on the Neo, a smaller number will support the additional 4K functionality.
When’s it coming?
Supposedly, Sony will require that all games released from October 2016 forward offer support for both console versions out of the box, and that games shipping in late September must have a day-one patch to add in the functionality. That’s according to Giant Bomb’s report, but it doesn’t mean that the PlayStation 4.5 will necessarily release at the start of October: Sony has reportedly given the OK for games to ship with Neo support before the console itself does.
Still, that estimate lines up pretty well with what we’ve heard previously: a Wall Street Journal report in March suggested that Sony would announce the PlayStation 4.5 in advance of the PlayStation VR’s release in October, so that buyers would have the option of grabbing the higher-end console alongside the headset.
A pairing of the PlayStation VR and PS4.5 would make Sony’s VR offering seem a lot more capable compared to the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, as well, even if those are PC-based options. Maybe we’ll even see a super-sized bundle with everything tossed into one pricey box.
Given E3’s status as the annual hotspot for massive video game industry announcements in June, we initially thought we’d be most likely hear about the PlayStation 4.5 then and see a release pretty close to the PlayStation VR in October, but an E3 announcement was specifically denied by House.
Kotaku’s original report on the system suggested that a price point could fall around $400, although the site’s sources didn’t have any consensus on that. If true, we imagine the older model will drop further in price to better differentiate the two.
Releasing an upgraded PlayStation 4 so soon after the original might rub some fans the wrong way – we’ve even speculated as much – but at least the rumors suggest that Sony isn’t abandoning the original buyers – just tempting them with something even better.
Will it be worth the extra cash? We may find out pretty soon once Sony pulls back the curtain.
Source: techradar.com
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I find PC & console debates (what in the world is stopping you from getting both?), but the world does not revolve around you and what games you think are good and should count and not count.
PC have and will always have more exclusives than consoles. It simply enables more ways to play games than consoles can.
How do you clarify games multi-platform, but not include PC? 1080p at usually 30FPS may be good enough for *you* but not many, especially if you never experienced better.
PS4 is a great console, but it definitely has limitations that have lead for a rapid need for a PS4 Neo (& a Scorpio on Microsoft's end). Many don't like that.
The SATAII interface was a daresay moronic decision & so on.
You are absolutely wrong and excuse me? There are a ton of true exclusives on PlayStation.
I have my list, where is yours? Because I have listed it out all perfectly for you. Helldivers did come to PC and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture finally did come to PC after a timed exclusive on PS4. Those are the two.
The only other thing I see wrong is that I have Tekken on there twice and Tekken is now full multi platform.
I find PC vs Console debates worthless, but you *do* know most spend thousands on PC to have a quality computer to create things, design, and so on?
A quality monitor or SSD alone is close to or past $1000.
Considering on the other side of the Isle – Xbox one came out 2013, this year is Xbox one-S 2016, Then they have ANOTHER console – Project Scorpio in 2017…
I'm happy to be part of the Sony PS family ( instead of buying 3 consoles over a 4 year span like Microsoft )
I am excited for the new system and VR coming out and plan on staying with Sony for many years to come!
FWIW, the whole point of the console market is to be cheap ($400-$500 is cheap; 1 week minimum wage in a few states) and a promised baseline. Stores like Gamestop will provide such a step-up program, but don't expect one from Sony unless their console market grumbles enough for them too…
Historically that hasn't happened w/ similar things such as PS3 slim & etc.
You have much more than 2 games incorrectly marked as exclusives; do note Sony actually have strategically focused on having *console* exclusive rights to games (later released on PC) rather than games exclusively on their platform to make many devs happy.
For that reason, Microsoft is countering that with their "Play Anywhere" program (a bit too late IMO; that's what they should have done from the beginning).
This generation, I deliberately waited for the first upgrade to the PS4 and Xbox One.
The Slim version of each usually brought long-overdue modern IO that they both should have had in the first place. FWIW, I thought they both released a year too early and seemed a hasty reaction to the Nintendo WiiU.
PS4 for example only had SATAII and Xbox One unnecessarily big and both lacked any modern Wifi speeds people would want in 2014 when they both released.
It was rather obvious for many to wait; especially with 4K around the corner; it would've been fine if both focused on at least decent 1440p for 1080p@60FPS performance that'd be okay for the average gamer at that time.
Huge mutli platform games like Red Dead Redemption and Destiny that will never come to PC.
Here's a few true exclusives on the plug and play, ease of mind PS4 you can't have on PC. Including some free exclusive content in some of the biggest AAA games.
Also worth noting: PS4 has more sales than PC and Xbone combined in almost every single AAA game of the year nominee title since PS4 was launched. In fact I am having trouble finding any game PC has sold more of than PS4 that are multi platform.
PC master race is just a joke. You are just too dumb to know better. I don't limit myself, I have a PC/PS4/PS3 Phat/Wii/WiiU and am even considering getting an Xbone for the living room for the few xbox games I care about I already have on my PC outside.
But even without xbox I can play pretty much every game ever made.
Headache free console for my living room, 1080p native with 15 minutes of video capture and more.
Bloodborne
Driveclub
Disgaea 5
Infamous Second Son
Killzone
N++
Knack
The Last of Us
Little Big Planet 3
MLB the show
The Order
The Playroom
Until Dawn
Tearaway Unfolded
Uncharted Nathan Drake collection
Shadow of the Beast
Uncharted 4
Ratchet & Clank
Alienation
To come TRUE exclusives:
Gran Turismo Sport
Detroit
Dreams
Horizon Zero Dawn
Days Gone
The Last Guardian
Rime
Drawn to Death
Deep Down
Gravity Rush 2
Plus don't forget the free exclusive content in multi platform titles:
Hitman
Batman Arkham Knight
Watchdogs
Assassins Creed
Far Cry 4
Mad Max
Tekken
Destiny
I have a PC and will never be without one. I just find PC only elitests to be short sided and missing a lot. I don't deny myself over the petty stuff those guys do.
PS4 is a fantastic console and you are absolutely wrong that NEO was a necessity. Proof is that PS4 will continue as is and continue to be sold as is and all games for NEO will also be released on PS4.
PS4 has 60fps where necessary. Lots of developers have opted to hit 60fps instead of 1080p.
PS4 also has free exclusive content in AAA multi plats like Batman Arkham Knight, Assassins Creed, Far Cry 4, Watchdogs, Tekken, Mad Max & Destiny.
As a person with a PS4 and a PC (and a WiiU). I can play every single game shown at E3. If you watched E3 you will know how much a PC only gamer is missing because the games shown at the Sony conference were off the hook.
Oh and headache free, plug n play VR in 2016. I guarantee that it doesn't have to be the best to take the largest marketshare for VR.
multi-GPUs are now first class citizens with VR APIs (GPU per eye) and gaming APIs finally catching up with productivity software that have leverage multi-cores and multi-GPUs efficiently for YEARS.
Multi-GPUs now become more and more useful as they have always been for various PC users for years beyond gaming because of the limitations of ASR in DX11/OpenGL and so on…
To take advantage of 4K, even with a Big Pascal coming out, it's ideal for content creators to go SLI as a no-brainer for both VR & optimal rates to tweak and experience quality animation.
OLED and so on support such use cases.
Single GPU is still a solid thing to finally get right when it comes to one having solid 4K performance; that's what Big Pascal & Volta is for.
I'm not making a comparison about the PS4.5 and PS4, but commenting about Sony giving step-up programs for current PS4 users for this updated version of it.
That hasn't happened before and it shouldn't in this case. No one's putting a gun to the head of PS4 owners to get an updated version specifically to accommodate use on a 4K television and VR.
Those things are certain features many segments PS4 gamers will not care about because those things are truly expensive dealing with hardware important console audiences such as college kids simply cannot sensibly afford.
And i am not hating on consoles nor do i flaunt "pc master race" junk. I have consoles and a pc (and never spent more than $350 on any single pc component my entire life). Hell, i know the pains of having pc versions of some bad or not-so-good ports such as the trash that is saints row 2 on pc, or gta 4 on pc, or tes4 oblivion with no controller support at all. As a pc gamer, i still like using a controller whenever possible. Ignore thise pc master race jerks that whine and brag about mouse and keyboard. Real pc gamers love all options. And the pc gamers that play mmos and free to play mobas and stuff do not represent the vast majority of pc gamers.
With Scorpio on the horizon, yes, the next PS5 has to run HDR 4K@30FPS at least to succeed the precedent Xbox Scorpio will provide the console market and it'll more likely play some games HDR 4K@60FPS (won't be easy); eventually, that'll be succeeded by slim or upgraded version that'll do 4K@60FPS HDR consistently.
4K alone is great, but things like OLED to have 4K@120FPS easy w/ 0.1ms response time and so on…
either way, this ps4.5 won't even come close to running any demanding game at native 4k smoothly. It will just be 1080p with better settings and 4k upscaling.
Why does eveyone assume there's no good games to play on PC? There are thousands of titles, including games found on consoles (with full controller support too). Backwards compatibility is not an issue either. I can play the very first Tomb Raider, and every TR all the way up to RotTR (TR is just one example). You don't need to spend buku money either to have an experience on par or better than consoles. Btw,most PC gamers don't play WoW, MOBA games, or CS GO. They play a plethora of games from a hundred genres. I personasly don't even own a moba, wow, or cs game. Such extremely broad statements being made here by console users. And the few PC gamer trolls here do nothing but brag about their expensive flagship GPUs.
$1179 for a GPU. Awesome! I imagine you feel pretty amazing. I paid $400 for a PS4, and own all of the other consoles (including the vintage ones) except a Wii U and XBOX One. I can play amazing games from every era and every genre, and I still haven't paid $1179 until you start factoring in games.
Why do people feel amazing because they spent more on a PC than some spent for a car? Who cares. Play your games. Enjoy them, because they're supposed to be fun. You're not superior to console owners, and they're not superior to you. If you want to play PC games at breathtaking FPS then go for it. If you want to play console games, then go right ahead.
Honestly, what makes you superior? This is as stupid an argument as whether or not Sprite is better than 7up. Just because you paid for the best bottle of Sprite doesn't mean I'm not laughing at you drinking my 7up. Grow up dude.
No, 1070 has seemingly always been more for those who want to catch up to what they missed out on from flagship Maxwell GPUs for primarily DX11 games for 1080p & 1440p gaming.
1080 is a mid-tier card that hints of what's to come for quality 1440p gaming & accomodating upcoming in-between monitors this year for 4K past 60FPs finally via SLI.
*Big Pascal* is what most enthusiasts & savvy gamers seemingly are waiting for (1080TI, Pascal Titan), with the exception of the minor con that it may have to resort to GDDR5X memory instead of HBM2 memory because of production yield problems
I do see 2 on the true exclusive list (Helldivers and soon to be Everybody's gone to the rapture) but that's it. Please note there are "True Exclusives" then "Console exclusives" and then "Free Exculsive content on AAA multi plats".
2 is hardly "most the games", you are wrong.
Okay, still a bit confused by your wording. I was probably thinking of killing floor, not killzone.
Okay, I see you are just being confused because I have a list for "True Exclusives" and a list for "Console Exclusives".
Xbox no longer has any true exclusives whatsoever. They are all now only console exclusives, meaning you can also get those on PC.
Here's the list of True exclusives. Killzone is definitely only available on PlayStation.
Bloodborne
Driveclub
Disgaea 5
Infamous Second Son
Killzone
N++
Knack
The Last of Us
Little Big Planet 3
MLB the show
The Order
The Playroom
Until Dawn
Tearaway Unfolded
Uncharted Nathan Drake collection
Shadow of the Beast
Uncharted 4
Ratchet & Clank
Alienation
To come TRUE exclusives:
Gran Turismo Sport
Detroit
Dreams
Horizon Zero Dawn
Days Gone
The Last Guardian
Rime
Drawn to Death
Deep Down
Gravity Rush 2
Plus don't forget the free exclusive content in multi platform titles:
Hitman
Batman Arkham Knight
Watchdogs
Assassins Creed
Far Cry 4
Mad Max
Tekken
Destiny
Dude you have revise that list. Most of the games you listed as exclusive are on Steam.
Your logic begins to falter when you realize Xbox One and PS4 deliberately, much to the demand of developers, use the same common architecture as PC games.
It's not hard to scale the games in ways PC games have done for years on top of the all serious modern gaming APIs being close to the metal.
That's actually what lead for this sort of mid-console upgrade being more feasible than ever beyond the TV and display technology shifts; and vast difference between a mid-tier PC and a console both console manufactures did not expect to grow so large
PS3 Slim wasn't an upgrade, it was a remodel to reduce costs. About the only "upgrade" it really contained was the ability to send bitstreams over HDMI from blu-ray discs (the "fat" PS3s' HDMI controller couldn't do that and the unit used software decoding to PCM on all channels).
But because that didn't constitute a true functionality upgrade, it isn't a valid comparison here. The PS4.5 is a sizeable step up, and not a pleasant thing to deal with when you just recently got a PS4 as I did (rev 2).
If this ends up being the norm going forward, console gaming is going to nosedive because people won't be able to afford constant updating of hardware and they won't tolerate potential loss of gaming performance for same games between the various console iterations.
I get that it costs money to make the new systems, but we aren't exactly made of money ourselves.
I don't know about Steam exclusives ( hardly any of those) but just from a glance here are some games from that list that are multiplatform and available on steam: killzone, transistor, volume, street fighter v, ace combat, planetside 2, h1z1, hotline miami 1 & 2, grim fandango, grow home, firewatch, everquest next (cancelled btw & is now a different game called landmark, daylight, dc universe, war thunder. Sorry for typos, i am using my tablet.