Sony doesn't really announce hardware at E3. There are exceptions: the PlayStation Move was hastily wheeled out a few years ago in reaction to the Kinect, while the ill-fated but kinda awesome PSPgo was also confirmed during one Los Angeles show. But most of its big system reveals tend to occur elsewhere: the PlayStation 4 was announced in New York, the PlayStation 3 Slim at Leipzig, and the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3 Super Slim in Tokyo. Are you noticing a pattern?
The so-called PlayStation 4K – or Neo, as it's supposedly codenamed – is about as close to being legit as you can get. While it's technically still a rumour at this stage, dozens of sources have confirmed the device – and we've even been able to read developer documentation for the upcoming console. The Japanese giant could still pull the plug on the project at the very last minute, but that seems incredibly unlikely at this stage. It's real, and it's probably launching this year.
What we know is that developers will be required to submit Neo compatible software this October. For those who haven't been keeping up to date – and we have a full rundown of all of the rumours that you can read here – all upcoming PS4 software will work in two formats: Base mode and Neo mode. This essentially means that those with the upgraded PS4K will get enhanced performance, while all games will still continue to be compatible with the bog-standard PS4 that's out now.
Sony probably would have preferred to wait to announce the PS4K, but leaks have probably twisted its arm
If the platform holder's mandating Neo support in October, then it stands to reason that the new console will launch around then, doesn't it? In fact, there have been several retail leaks suggesting that Sony's new system will indeed deploy around that date. Which leaves us with the one remaining question in the headline of this article: will the manufacturer announce the PS4K during its E3 2016 press conference in a couple of weeks?
We reckon that it's going to have to. The problem with revealing hardware that's still several months off is that it can have a habit of killing off existing sales, but with the rumours so revealing, we're not entirely sure how Sony's going to get through an entire convention without mentioning a console that everyone knows exists. It needs to set the record straight anyway – even though the PS4K has been a hot topic of discussion for three months now, the manufacturer's yet to have its say.
There's also going to be mounting pressure from Microsoft, with rumours suggesting that it's going to reveal its own iterative hardware model at E3. If the murmurs are correct, the Redmond-based manufacturer is really going to gamble, announcing a device over a year away. While speculation suggests that this will be more powerful than the PS4K, it's a real risk talking about it so early, as it could really destroy the momentum of its current machine.
It looks like that's something that both manufacturers are going to have to accept, though. In our opinion, Sony probably would have preferred to wait until Gamescom or the Tokyo Game Show to announce the PS4K, but leaks and rumours have probably twisted its arm. We reckon that it will be outlined at E3 2016, and it's going to be fascinating to see how it pitches the unit. The rumours have probably helped prepare people for the reveal, but it's still got to get its messaging spot on.
Do you think that the PS4K will be announced at E3 2016? If not, why not? And if so, how do you think that Sony will position the platform? See things more clearly in the comments section below.
Will Sony announce the PS4K at E3 2016? (49 votes)
- Yes, of course it will
- I'm honestly not sure
- No, I think it will wait
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Comments 39
probably amd i hope they fully explain what the differences are too
Seems split so far but I think no. I don't think it's launching before November so I think e3 is too early.
It would be great if they could open up their E3 presentation with "Here's a list of things we WON'T be talking about today" so we can just sit back and enjoy the ride without sitting for hours waiting for something that isn't going to happen.
@KratosMD Can they adjust their press conference as loosely at that, though? You'd think they'd need to be prepared if they're going to announce it, and it will be a sizeable segment. Cutting it/including it depending on what Microsoft announce could change the entire schedule of the show.
Its expected that MS will announce the 'Slim' to keep the sales of the XB1 ticking over but now the 'Scorpio' has leaked, I don't know if they will mention that too.
Why am I talking about MS? well it could affect what Sony announce. If MS do announce 'Scorpio', its almost certain that Sony will - whether its a big full blown announcement or a 'by the way' announcement again could depend on what MS announce. IF MS don't mention 'Scorpio', Sony could get away with leaving Neo to later in the year or even just tease the image at the end to generate even more discussion and hype which could be more beneficial than a full blown reveal and advertising campaign...
@KratosMD So a lot of people say, but I'm not sure I believe it personally.
I hope they do and MS tell us about the XB1.5 as well, I need to know which is the better console (but I think I already do ) so I know which to get.
I say no... I think if it gets announced at E3, it hits mainstream media as 'New PS4 console coming out' and no average gamer buys a PS4. Sales go down, stocks wobble and the emphasis shifts to it rather than PSVR.
The messages will be PSVR and exclusives for PS4. I will bet, well not much, but something trivial.
Hope so , so I plan on how much I need to save, just got my shiny 4k TV yesterday woo xd
Depend on when sony plan to lauch ps4k, if the launch still far away I don't think sony will announced it at e3. I think it will be better if sony just focus on games at e3 and announced ps4k at another event, so they can focus on the machine 100% and explain the difference between the new and the old one.
Either way, I'm excited about e3
@get2sammyb "but with the rumours so revealing, we're not entirely sure how Sony's going to get through an entire convention without mentioning a console that everyone knows exists."
Ask Nintendo, that's exactly what they are doing with NX. Maybe Sony can just make Horizon Zero Dawn the only playable demo?
Oh, and one big difference between all of those other hardware reveals and this one which you didn't seem to mention - Sony could launch those other consoles whenever they wanted, but they are already commited to PSVR in the fall, so if Neo's power is to make PSVR games run properly, and not in a Far Harbor fog, then it needs Neo out for PSVR, which means it has to announce it sooner rather than later.
I wouldn't put it past Sony to only show PSVR games running on Neo and old PS4 is worse. Ask Damo about Hyrule Warriors Legends on older 3DS models. It would be VERY unfair of them to show games running on hardware they haven't even announced yet, but if they reveal it, well why show ANY game play on the old system? Dreams, HZD, all of it.
@get2sammyb
If the rumor is true about the 4x power of xbox scorpio I think there's no way microsoft will announced it if the machine still 1 year away, it will kill the xbox1 sales outright. I don't care either way thought, the only exclusive that I want is gear of war 4 and I think it will be on pc.
I hope they announce it and give some details about it. I'm interested but it would have to perform noticeably better than my current PS4 and not be too expensive.
I hope so. Assuming they are definitely going ahead with it.
@rjejr The thing is, I've used PSVR several times on standard PS4 hardware and it works amazingly well. I doubt Neo will have much impact on that.
@johnny30 mine is arriving tomorrow. Cant wait!!!!
@get2sammyb There was a rumour that DRM etc was going to be in the PS4 as well but as that 'bombed' during MS's, they opted to take it out and changed their conference to appear like that was their plan anyway. It was certainly changed to reflect MS's mistakes but whether or not these were 'features' that were removed or never in the PS4, I guess we will never know for sure.
@wiiware I do think that MS was planning on releasing the Scorpio in the next year but was not planning on announcing it at E3. At least that's what the rumour stated. Leaks though could change these plans and I think it makes sense for MS to release before the 'big' holiday games release - especially if they do partner up with EA on 3rd Party shooters - Sony have Destiny and CoD so maybe MS could partner with BF1 and/or TF2. If I was Dice (in particular) or Respawn (unless they are using Frostbite 3), I wouldn't be as happy to show off XB1 gameplay. Frostbite 3 seems to be running games at 720/60 on XB1, 900/60 on PS4 but I bet it would be 1080p+ on the next wave and maybe with higher visual settings (lighting, shadows, reflections etc). BF1 has 'gas' too which, as we have seen from 'foggy' areas in Fallout and the Witcher 3, can impact heavily on game performance. If you want to showcase your game and your technical proficiency, you want to showcase on decent hardware.
@get2sammyb And I watched The Last Guardian trailer at E3 way back in 2009 on the PS3 and that looked amazing too. And we all know how that turned out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tK2KfNF7IY
@get2sammyb
You hear the wildest assumptions about NEO being nescesarry for VR or how it will divide the userbase, while the NEO is practically inevitable for a whole other reason. Sure, all console manufacturers see the declining sales in software and console sales will plateau soon if something doesn't happen, but the main reason for NEO is quite simple: Polaris. Sony could insist on buying old parts and AMD won't be able to shut down production lines, but they will still need to produce Polaris chips on the other hand.
So Sony will be able to buy the new APU, which is more powerful, more energy efficient and cooler, for the same amount of money they're buying the current one. And if AMD were to keep the old production lines open that would probably mean that the old APUs, with the old architecture (or however it's called), would even be MORE expensive than the newer Polaris ones. And because it's more energy efficient, Sony can overclock the CPU and GPU a bit as well because they won't run the risk of overheating it.
We're in the UAV business ourselves and we are facing similar "problems" at the moment where the maintenance of the older models is actually getting more and more expensive every year. It's a different kind of bussiness and we have a different kind of "APUs" that we have to work with for example, but adopting the newer tech in favor of the old one is actually beneficial for both the end "consumers" as well as our company.
I think they will wait for Nintendo and/or Microsoft to announce first so they can kill the hype on their competition and to gauge what and what's not to announce. That's what they did in Xbox 2 years ago.
@UVUVYCTXUHIV mine is awesome 48 inch curved sanaung smart TV. Before I had 36 inch normal TV coat 550. Now to start saving for ps4k ha
XBOX's rumoured Scorpio system in 2017 may well have thrown a spanner in the works, but if Sony drop the price of the PS4 and make the more powerful neo the same price point then they may spin this...
That being said, no way on earth will I buy a neo with Scorpio and NX still to be full announced, this is going to be one screwed up console generation... here's the more powerful ps4, here's the Xbox slim, here's the Xbox which is 4-6 times more powerful, here's the NX blah blah.
Hope we do get some details, would be nice to have all the info out there in the open to digest properly. Whether I get one straight away or not largely depends on what Nintendo announce when they finally unveil the NX. Even then I'll probably buy a new TV first then pick up a 'Neo' in the new year. My old plasma is starting to show its age for sure so this would be a good excuse to upgrade.
Neo will be at E3. Reason? PSVR. And I think they'll demo the upcoming first party games on neo. But I don't know how they'll message it.
@get2sammyb I guess it depends on the VR games. The most 'challenging' from a hardware perspective that I can think of is RIGS with its 3v3 fast paced action. Other games, such as stacking blocks, on rails shooter, Golem 'hack and slash' etc don't seem that high in hardware resource consumption. I have read some reports that RIGS can have frame rate stutters and input lag on the movement - admittedly these are early builds/impressions and things can be better optimised and perform better by the time both the headset and game releases.
What we don't know of course is how much the developers are having to compromise to get their games performing compared to their original vision. For example was RIGS originally hoped to be 'bigger' like 6v6 and bigger maps? Did they have plans for more impressive visuals but had to tone them right down? Is it limiting the the development of other games or 'porting' of 3rd party VR software on OR or Rift? I haven't seen a lot of the VR games on any of the headsets but their are a few on OR/Rift that look more challenging from a hardware perspective.
Sony have spent a lot of money on the R&D of PSVR and as with any device, its success is going to come down to the software available and the way it runs. If the majority are 'relatively' simple experiences, it could lack appeal to a wide audience, if they try to be too ambitious and the hardware struggles, it can ruin the experience too.
Neo can showcase the potential of the hardware. I know games would also have to run on PS4 but they could scale back the visuals and effects to show its a 'lack of power' rather than a 'headset' issue.
We know that AMD have been building new GPU's and APU's with VR (as well as the new API's) in mind - better efficiency, better processing speeds etc as well as the fact that these are 'relatively' cheap and will of course benefit non-VR software too. Whether Neo is predominantly designed with VR in mind, there is no doubt it could benefit gamers and potentially the VR experience.
Please have a bigger capacity battery in the DS4 as well Sony, thanks!
Hmm. I think it'll be mentioned. I don't think we'll get the whole expose treatment like PS4 got in Spring 2013, but I think we'll hear that it's coming.
Honestly, I'm not sure. Who really knows? This is a crazy generation so anything is expected.
I don't think Sony will be that worried about MS anyway, if you believe the rumours they are going to announce Scorpio early because they were caught off guard by the PS4K rumours. If true then MS are been reactionary again just like they have been all throughout this gen. That's the problem with Xbox One and Xbox as a brand right now, it has no vision or set path. Nearly every business decision it's made has been because of something Sony has done, meanwhile Sony has continued to just carry on, like Andrew House said "We have not changed our story".
@BAMozzy It all pointless thought, if microsoft make more powerfull box sony will also make more powerfull box next year or next 2 year and the cycle will continue. I don't think more hardware is going to help xbox brand, the more important thing they need is exclusive games.
Also I don't belive one bit playstation is going to use internet drm, unlike microsoft, playstation is global brand and the drm will kill playstation sales in asia (excluding japan) since not all country have good online infrastructure. Only microsoft has that crazy idea with online drm and no used copy nonsense, that's because they have monopoly in operating system (windows) and thinks they can have monopoly in console space too.
@wiiware To me it seems the Xbox is pinning its holiday 2016 hopes on Exclusives. There seems to be little reason to invest in the Slim when even the base PS4 has better performance and no doubt the Neo and PSVR will launch too. It seems that MS are hoping that Gears4, Halo Wars 2, Sea of Thieves, Recore, Crackdown3, Probably Forza Horizon 2 and the upcoming Scalebound (as well as the existing exclusives) will be enough to sell consoles against Sony's offerings - That's before any 3rd party deals that could be upcoming as well. It seems that MS are pinning their hopes primarily on Software with the whole Backwards Compatibility too and we have seen how that can be used with 3rd Party games - Doom for example offering the original Doom, Fallout 4 offering Fallout 3. It seems that MS are 'happy' to wait to release their more powerful console, miss out on the holiday market, miss out on competing with Sony and VR hype and miss out on delivering the 'big' holiday games at better resolutions/frame rates...
IF they do then at least make it look different. Like a space ship
E3 2016 is the time and place for the reveal announcement of the Neo if the release is this year. All of the facts and questions can be addressed on the E3 platform.
The deal with me is my PS4 is only 6 months old so why should i even consider purchasing a slightly souped up PS4 until i see what MS may offer. As a gamer keeping my current PS4 and adding a new xbox in 2017 may offer much more than upgrading to or adding the Neo this year or next. Well that is if i can find a controller with normal symetrical sticks to use on the xbox.
No I don't think the NEO will be ready to ship before the end of the year anyway. They will wait until their customer focused playstation experiance to announce it I think. This gives them more time to explain the the why factor and allows them to focus on PSVR this year.
This whole Neo business could go badly, and there are a lot of people who aren't really sure about it. Sony needs to have a really good and clear presentation which shows that they'll handle the Neo transition well. Otherwise they could prematurely hurt both the existing PS4 install base and Neo.
@adf86 Not always. Microsoft added backwards compatibility to Xbox One via software before Sony added it to PS4.
@Mahe Yes, look at New 3DS, it is not doing as well as Nintendo expected. Mid generation leaps are risky. Will PS4 owners be annoyed about Neo? Sony would say: No, because all PS4 software will run on "old" PS4. Will that software be downgraded and run poorly? Like, you know, choppy frame rates and so?
Microsoft is being a bit wiser by linking the console and PC/Windows market and still offering a console choice, but PS4Neo could put PS4 owners off just like Wii U owners are annoyed with Nintendo, because console gamers don't like expensive consoles with limited support, except geeks, of course.
@VanillaLake Except when they announced BC they couldn't help but have a dig at Sony's PS Now service which for me shows that they have too much an eye on their competition.
On paper it makes sense for MS to have games on Windows 10 too but PC gamers are a hard audience to win (many refuse to play any game that isn't on Steam these days) and so far the reception to both Windows as an OS and a gaming client has been choppy at best, which leaves the Xbox platform which is been devalued every time they decide to put a supposed system seller exclusive on PC as well.
Games support goes live in October and the rumoured Xbox Scorpio will be a huge threat within the next 18 months, so I think it would be crazy for Sony not to announce the Neo now so as to get as much hype behind it as possible over the next few months and what better place to do that than at the world's biggest gaming event?
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