Everything we know about the PlayStation 4 Neo, also known as PS4.5 or PS4K, including the potential release date, specs, price and games.
With each of the 'big three' looking to upgrade its hardware, and Nintendo pushing the Nintendo NX back to 2017, Sony has decided to bring out a ‘.5’ iteration on the PlayStation 4 this year.
Sony recently confirmed the existence of the PS4K, but it will not be shown at E3 2016, like many had previously thought.
The new console will be capable of upscaling current PS4 titles to 4K, as well supporting games with improved visual fidelity, a huge benefit for the upcoming Playstation VR headset.
WHAT IS IT THE PS4.5?
The PS4.5 is a souped-up PlayStation 4, bringing upgrades to hardware specs to deliver better graphical performance for games, better support for the forthcoming PlayStation VR and 4K resolution support, hence the alternative PS4K moniker.
Video: Should you buy a PS4 Neo?
But it's not the start of a new console generation, so is not considered a PlayStation 5. PS4 games will work on the console, though they are expected to receive a boost to performance. How much of an increase remains unknown.
It's also known as 'PS4K' because it's expected to feature an Ultra HD Blu-ray player, so you'll be able to watch 4K Blu-ray discs on the console.
PS4.5 SPECS – HOW MUCH MORE POWERFUL WILL THE CONSOLE BE THAN A PS4?
According to a new report from Giant Bomb, the PS4.5's official codename is ‘Neo’, and the same report also details more about the potential performance of the new console.
The Neo will feature a superior clock speed to the PS4 (2.1 GHz vs 1.6 Ghz), as well as an improved GPU.
Specifically, the current PS4 features an AMD GCN with 18 compute units running at 800MHz, but the PS4 Neo is expected to have 36 compute units running at a faster 911MHz clock speed. So that's double the potential processing units and at a higher clock speed, which explains previous claims that the PS4.5 would be twice as powerful as the PS4.
That's not all. While the Neo will still ship with 8GB of GDDR5 memory, it be faster – 218GB/s vs 176GB/s, just shy of 24% faster than the PS4's memory.
AMD recently confirmed that it has a selection of new chips in development for 2016. First reported by Ars Technica, AMD will have three new semi-custom systems (SOC) releasing in the coming months, one of which is set to debut later in 2016.
Many believe this will be very same component used to power PS4.5, cosidering AMD had a hand in both the development of PS4 and Xbox One in the past.
What all this means is that the PS4.5 should run faster, with fewer framerate tears in more intensive games, providing a smoother gaming experience across the board.
It's suggested that games will be able to run in 4K, but that won't be a requirement for games. Instead the console will be able to upscale to 4K, but Sony's determined this shouldn't come at the expense of the game's framerate.
Moreover, no game will be exclusive to the new console. Games will have an 'enhanced' mode that will improve the graphics on the upgraded version, but they still have to work on normal PS4 consoles.
According to Sony President Andrew House, PS4 Neo is intended to "sit alongside and compliment the standard PS4" and both will be sold througout the console lifecycle.
The executive also stated 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.” If this rings true, you shouldn't need to worry about missing out on any games if you stick with your standard PS4.
PS4.5 RELEASE DATE – WHEN WILL THE ‘PLAYSTATION NEO’ LAUNCH?
Sony confirmed the existence of the PS4 Neo in a recent interview with the Financial Times, but the company isn't ready to commit to a solid price or release date as of yet.
Related: E3 2016: What we'd like to see
With PSVR already garnering a lot of positive feedback and hype – being the cheapest high-end VR hardware on the market and also the most accessible for the largest audience – it seems strange that Sony would be considering competing with itself for customer cash.
According to the Giant Bomb report, every game launched post-October will require native support for both PS4 and the Neo, though this doesn’t confirm an October release date for the new hardware.
Games released in late-September will also require post-launch patches to bring them up to PS4.5 standards, which suggests the console could launch around this time, but nothing is certain yet.
PS4.5 PRICE – HOW MUCH WILL THE PS4.5 COST?
At the moment there are no details on a price for the console. Considering Sony is already asking for £350 from consumers this year if you’re willing to invest in VR, it’d be surprising to ask them to double down on an equally-expensive new console.
Sony could potentially get a huge leg-up on the competition and re-assert itself as the dominant console this generation by offering an incremental upgrade at an incredibly-competitive price, but the chances are this will be a pricey upgrade.
PS4.5 GAMES – WILL THERE BE EXCLUSIVE SOFTWARE FOR THE PS4.5?
All reports suggest the PS4K will feature upgraded performance, but no exclusive games. It is believed that Sony will not allow a split userbase with some software only playable on the new hardware.
As mentioned above, games launched in late September will require patches to provide performance improvements for the new hardware, and any software launched in October and beyond will require native support for the new hardware, according to these documents.
According to a recent report in Edge Magazine (via IBTimesUK) PS4.5 exists because initial performance of Playstation VR on launch consoles was "truly awful." If true, we may see some Playstation VR titles coming exclusively to PS4.5, if original machines aren't up to the task.
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