Sony announces a revamp of the Playstation 4 Line-up. The presentation itself was very tech talk heavy, and for anyone watching on a stream, the visual effects are muted and lost in translation. In terms of hard facts and info, here’s what you need to know.
Your PS4 sitting with you now is still going to be supported by everyone, you’ll be able to get a firmware update next week to allow High Dynamic Range to be used for prettier graphical effects. You will also have tools to transfer all your data to one of the new PS4s if you want to upgrade. Otherwise, nothing changes.
The PS4 Slim, as revealed to the World by LetsPlayVideoGames, is the new model of PS4 going forward. While Sony showed off the model and the price ($299 and £259), they announced nothing else except the firmware update that will allow the console to more effectively make use of High Dynamic Range for fancy lighting and effects. For what the main differences are in the new model, including the new standard controller, check out the link above.
Out on September 15th, so you still have a week to pick up a PS4 classic at a high price.
The PS4 Neo is revealed, Now with the name, PS4 Pro. In terms of design, it’s modelled in the same way as the Ps4 Slim, with a third bar sandwiched to provide space for all those upgrades. This is a console designed for graphical upgrades, and minor performance boosts. The main focus is on providing compatibility for four features.
These are your reasons to buy a PS4 Pro. Upgraded 4K resolution, support for HDTV’s and the upgraded hardware will support PS4VR better. In terms of gameplay, the upgraded GPU, HDD and boosted Clock Rate will mean that all of your pretty experiences will run smoothly. In theory. On November 10th, you can pick up a PS4 Pro at $399 and £349
What is the takeaway from all this? Well, if you have a 4K or HDTV capable device, you may find these games consoles absolutely worth it.
They’re priced competitively, and with the right supporting hardware you can make use of them appropriately.
In terms of VR, I can’t think of any reason to not to upgrade if you really want to enjoy that experience.
The PS4 Pro is designed to be an upgrade for the current line up. You don’t have to join in. Sony has been adamant that the original version of the PS4 is not going to be made lesser or abandoned.
But these are mostly just Graphical upgrades. This isn’t some sort of killer app.
If you have to be at the forefront of technology, then work away. But this isn’t making anything obsolete. And this conference hasn’t been able to dislodge my wallet.
If you’d like to check out what 1080p Screencaps of a 4K projection on a Twitch Stream for the PS4 Pro can look like, check out this Gallery