Amazon Spain has added a new product page for a brand new PlayStation 4 console set to release on 13th October, prompting speculation that it could be the anticipated PS4K – or Neo as it's also known. The listing includes a €399.99 price point, which is exactly what we'd expect the upgraded console to cost.
However, the launch date is the same as PlayStation VR, and it seems unlikely that Sony would drop two major pieces of hardware on the same day. What is this, then? Well, it could be an error on Amazon Spain's part – or it could be some kind of impending holiday bundle unrelated to the high-end hardware on the way.
While the platform holder isn't saying much about its upgraded console, developer documentation has indicated that it will probably deploy later this year, and the firm has said that it wants to release the console almost immediately after it's revealed. When that official announcement will come, though, is anyone's guess.
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[source amazon.es, via vgleaks.com, videogamer.com]
Comments 10
PS4 REMASTERED?lol,after all those crappy game remasters now we have console remasters,sony is going to rip us off
£350 (as that works out) is what the 'rumours' indicated the target price was going to be. That was of course with a 500GB HDD. That price also puts it on a par with the XB1s 2TB version. I hope the Neo/4k (or whatever it ends up being called) also has a 4k HDR Bluray player and maybe options to buy a variety of HDD sizes in a similar way to the XB1s. If so that would mean a 2TB 'Neo' could be available for £450 - around £50 more than a Samsung 4k HDR Bluray player!
From my perspective, I would MUCH prefer to buy the Neo than a 2TB XB1s as my Bluray player for my 4K HDR TV of course because of the benefits it can bring to gaming. If the rumours are true, no game will be less than 1080p which, when upscaled (either by the console or TV) is a lot better than 900p or 720p upscaled. Can't wait to see how gorgeous Horizon: Zero Dawn could be.... Of course they could opt to boost frame rate to 60fps instead of increasing the resolution above 1080p - either way I am looking forward to getting my hands on the Neo...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX-YFJ5_qe8 Interesting breakdown about the Neo from a leaked Developer Guideline PDF. Saying they want games to be at least 1800p and at the same or higher frame rates to the standard PS4 version if you have a 4k TV connected - looking at ways to downscale if you have a 1080p connected or limit the resolution.
@BAMozzy So you are saying that it does not work on a normal 1080p tv? That would be really stupid or am i reading it wrong with what you mean?
@Flaming_Kaiser According to the document, the console will detect the TV you are connected to. The document says that 'developers' are creating '2' options currently depending on the TV - one that sets the resolution at 1080p for HDTV's. The document also says that some developers are reporting success in creating just a single resolution (e.g. 3520x1980) and scaling it down to 1920x1080 for output to HDTVs.
Basically what this document is saying is that the Neo WILL work with either TV. If you have a 1080p TV, the console will either limit the resolution to 1080p automatically OR in some cases just downsample to 1080p - take the higher resolution and 'squash' it down effectively.
What this means is that developers don't have to create 2 sets of parameters for Neo mode in games - 1 for HDTV's and 1 for UHDTV's. They just create the 1 for UHDTV's and then 'downsample' if a HDTV is connected.
If you have a 4k TV connected, the 'minimum' native resolution should be 1800p and that is upscaled to 2160p before it's sent to the TV.
Regardless of if you connect to a 4k or HD TV, the Neo will output the 'right' resolution for your TV - either natively or by downsampling/upscaling as necessary. One thing for sure, it is important to ensure that the NEO frame rate meets or exceeds the frame rate of the game on the original PlayStation®4...
Might the "new console" that Amazon are preparing for be the PS4 slim? Or is that out after Neo which would be stupid or is it a slim Neo? I'd also be suprised if Sony don't release a new next gen console late 2017 early 2018 if they don't make Neo powerful enough to compete with Scorpio.
@xMEADx The way I see it, MS has done the standard mid-cycle Slim type addition to their line-up and added 4k media to it. The standard Xbox was 'ridiculed' over its size - although I do find its no bigger than my other AV equipment (until I upgraded to SkyQ) but also runs cooler and more quiet than my PS4. After the 360 RROD issues, its as if MS took no chances.
Sony on the other hand can't really make the PS4 all that much smaller, slimmer etc - certainly not by 40%. Blurays, HDD's even the internal power brick must take up a certain amount of the size - as do the ports like USB, HDMi etc.
To me, it seems 'both' are on different paths now. MS regardless of what they are 'saying' about the Scorpio, it is a next box. It will have its own unique software (software that won't be coming to XB1) in the form of VR. It could also be like the Neo too in that it will play XB1 games at enhanced resolutions/frame rates. I can't see it though having the same restrictions as the Neo - in that 'every' game must be the same as the XB1 version, same content, same DLC etc. The XB1 will be 4yrs old by then and its already 'struggling' to hit 720/60 or 900/30 in virtually every 3rd party game so I can't see it lasting much beyond Scorpio's release and I can't see MS releasing a very powerful (by console standards) machine only to replace it with the XB2 a year or so later because the XB1 can't play the 'new' games.
Sony's approach appears to be to release a mid-term 'upgraded' console instead of just looking a smaller, redesigned PS4. Games over the next 2-3years are likely to 'struggle' to consistently hit 1080p and still deliver consistent frame rates. The 'normal' indication to a console manufacturer that its time to consider replacing a console is a decline in standards (not game-play but increasing numbers of visual sacrifices to achieve that 'standard') With an increasing number of people upgrading to 4K TV's and games dropping from 1080p (or other visual sacrifices having to be made), Sony either have to think about its 'next' gen sooner than they hoped OR make a mid-cycle enhanced version. It seems they have opted to go the mid-cycle upgrade route. What this means for Sony owners, is that it should enable the PS4 to last a bit longer and take some of the pressure off of developers in trying to hit 1080p resolutions. The PS4 itself is in a slightly better position than the XB1 because of its better GPU - meaning that it has more chance to deliver the 'bigger' games - it can drop to 900p and even down to 720p but if a game has to drop to 720p on PS4, chances are that game won't be running on XB1.
I see the path Sony are on is the 'traditional' Console route. By that I can see a PS5 being released (I think by Q4 2018) 5yrs+ after the PS4. A normal next gen console that has its own 'unique' software (games that won't be on PS4/Neo). Some games will come to PS4/Neo too and for a year or two after the PS5 launches - just like every other 'next' gen console release. However I do expect that games released will be either PS4 or PS5 on the box
MS seem to be moving more towards a PC style structure. Games will eventually have a 'minimum' requirement (For example min XB1, Min Scorpio). Every 3-4yrs, a new Xbox will come out and that will play every game before it - you bring your entire Xbox library with you. Games will just have Xbox on the Box. If you put that in the XB1, it plays to a certain standard (if it can), in the Scorpio to a higher standard, in the 'XB2' to a higher standard again - like PC games - you can still play 10yr old PC games on a top PC but you can't play top AAA games on a 10yr old PC. There is no more Xbox generations as such - you won't get a Scorpio AND XB1 game simultaneously released (like CoD: Ghosts for example had a XB360/PS3 version and a XB1/PS4 version) - you will just get 1 version and it will play according to the 'specs' - like buying a PC version and running it on a GTX970 and then upgrading to a GTX1080 - that game, your saves/stats etc stay but the extra power gives you a better visual experience and higher frame rates.
I hope that makes sense but that's how I see both of these console manufacturers moving forward.
Both this generation of Hardware was 'under-powered' to last the 5-7years we expect - especially with the significant jumps in technology. The uptake of 4K TV's (which do highlight the 'drops' in resolution - try playing a PS4 1080p game on a 4k TV and then the same game at 900p on an XB1. the 4K TV automatically upscales to 4k but a native 4k looks a LOT better than a 900p upscaled by the console to 1080p and then upscaled by the TV to 4k), the new API's (like DX12, Vulcan) and GPU's (with more efficiency and designed with these new API's in mind - as well as VR) and of course VR too. When the PS4/XB1 released, the GTX770 was as much (if not more) than these consoles and now the GTX1070 (faster than a £1k Titan) costs about the same price!
I'll stop there as this has gone on a bit....
My launch PS4 sounds like it's going to take off and it's not a joke. The size and design is fine for me. Also, I wouldn't buy the PS4 "REMASTER" for a bit extra power unless I could get some money back which is not the case.
@BAMozzy thanks and that made perfect sense I see exactly what you mean, very intresting and i'm certainly looking at different way's the future of console's could turn out now than i'd not thought of before I read it, thankyou!
Going to expensive for me as after trading my ps4 for the neo, I have to buy a 4k monitor at around the £300 mark.
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