Sony made quite the hullabaloo about today’s ‘PlayStation Meeting’ event, where press outlets and other such industry watchers were invited to a private event in New York (albeit one livestreamed publicly on Twitch), to get a first look at the next revision of PlayStation 4. One of the two major announcements was leaked in advance, and Sony previously acknowledged the other after its own batch of leaks earlier in the year, but regardless, Sony announced two new variations of their current PlayStation 4 console at the event, and gave first official looks at both.
The first, which was previously leaked, complete with images by several major press outlets ahead of the event, is a slimmer, sleeker model of PlayStation 4 that will replace the launch model PlayStation 4 going forward, aptly titled the ‘PlayStation 4 Slim’. The PlayStation 4 Slim will retail for $299.99 USD, and will start launching to the public next week in most territories, starting on September 15th. The device is not only smaller and lighter, but also promises to be more energy-efficient, even though its internal specs and technical capabilities are identical to that of the launch model PlayStation 4 that has been available to the public since November of 2013.
The second and more high-profile announcement was for PlayStation 4 Pro, a 4K-enabled PlayStation 4 console revision that was previously believed to be called ‘PlayStation 4 Neo’. PlayStation 4 Pro will stand alongside and complement the base model PlayStation 4, now to be the PlayStation 4 Slim after existing stock of the launch model PlayStation 4 runs out, and is not intended to be a replacement for the base model of PlayStation 4. PlayStation 4 Pro will support 4K video streaming out of the box for 4K-capable televisions, with Netflix and YouTube working on new PlayStation 4 Pro apps that will support hundreds of hours of video content in 4K, including Netflix’s recent release of Narcos’ second season, and the upcoming debut season of Marvel’s Luke Cage, which releases on Netflix on September 30th.
Sony also confirmed the rumours that the PlayStation 4 Pro will feature an enhanced GPU that more than doubles the visual processing power of the base model PlayStation 4, will be packaged with a 1TB hard drive, and it will also come with a boosted CPU clock rate, leading to superior game performance and visual integrity. Even on 1080p television displays, certain games, including games that are already available on PlayStation 4 such as Call of Duty: Black Ops III and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, will see visual improvements on PlayStation 4 Pro, thanks to the increased processing power, though Sony also promises that an upcoming firmware update arriving next week will allow even the launch model PlayStation 4’s sold from day one back in 2013 to display more colours and lighting with HDR-enabled TV’s. This difference is especially noticeable on PlayStation VR, allegedly, with Sony’s upcoming virtual reality headset still being perfectly functional on base model PlayStation 4’s, though definitely being more immersive when used with PlayStation 4 Pro.
Contrary to initial belief by some rumours, the PlayStation 4 Pro will also support 4K gaming, and not just 4K video streaming too. Granted, only certain games will support 4K resolution, and the PlayStation 4 Pro doesn’t appear to have the same staggering degree of muscle that Microsoft claims their upcoming 4K-enabled Xbox One revision, currently dubbed ‘Project Scorpio’, will apparently sport, though the PlayStation 4 Pro appears to be compensating by being more affordable and efficient than Project Scorpio, with Sony’s 4K-enabled PlayStation 4 Pro selling for the surprisingly reasonable price of $399.99 USD. Sony has also stressed that the PlayStation 4 Pro is simply an option for avid gamers that want the most out of their PlayStation 4 gaming experience, and is not meant to start a new console generation, nor is it meant to blur the line between console generations, with the PlayStation maker seemingly taking a shot at Microsoft’s controversial claims about how Project Scorpio will ‘do away’ with console generations.
Sony has initially promised that the following list of confirmed PlayStation 4 games will support 4K and HDR on PlayStation 4 Pro, with more to come in the future:
– Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man
– For Honor
– Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
– Rise of the Tomb Raider
– Days Gone
– Watch Dogs 2
– Farpoint
– Horizon: Zero Dawn
– Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
– Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered
– Call of Duty: Black Ops III
– FIFA 17
– Battlefield 1
– Mass Effect: Andromeda
– Dishonored 2
– Final Fantasy XV
PlayStation 4 Pro will release on November 10th of this year.
Keep revisiting Eggplante for all major news and updates on PlayStation 4 consoles, and other PlayStation hardware.