Right, so there's been a rumour spreading like crazy around the web that you'll actually have to pay for PlayStation 4 Pro updates. In other words, when a game gets a Pro update, supposedly increasing its graphical prowess or technical performance, you'll have to pay to download it. This rumour originally stemmed from a Japanese interview that was translated by Kotaku.
Naturally, people have seen the headlines and now they're in an uproar - but as is usually the case, it sounds like the internet has jumped the gun. Posting on NeoGAF, PlayStation and PC indie developer Jacksinthe states that "We are not allowed to charge you for patches or pro feature updates. The "fees" include anything we have to swallow to update our past games for you. The internet can calm down. There is nothing we can do to leverage pro features or patches with price. Nothing."
So, what the heck was the aforementioned interview all about, then? Well, it's tough to say - it could just be a PlayStation representative getting mixed up, or a slightly dodgy translation - but the idea that publishers or developers could charge for patches seems completely out of order to begin with.
Is this all cleared up now? Let out a deep and long sigh in the comments section below.
Update: A Sony representative has told Polygon that Pro updates will not cost you money. Another rumour bites the dust.
[source neogaf.com, via polygon.com]
Comments 40
Yes this is cleared up. Instead games will just be increase in price, more work more costs involved. Its fine for a big developer they can just eat up the cost but for smaller indie studios this could be more of an issue.
Can't quite believe people put stock in this to begin with.
As far as I understand, there is absolutely no pressure on developers to 'patch' older games with 'enhanced' visuals for the PS4 Pro. It may well end up benefiting the though if they can or do as it may well renew interest and generate more sales.
Only games released from Sept 1st 2016 have to have a PS4 Pro 'mode' and from October 1st, these must be included in the game - not patched in. All games prior to this though is, I believe, up to the developers if they want to. It may not be in Ubisoft or Dices best interest to patch in a 'Pro' mode to Watchdogs or Battlefield 4 with new games due out in the coming months - assuming they could as both games were made to a higher visual standard for PC.
Some games, like Destiny, could benefit from a patch (if possible) because its still current and played by millions every week. Some 'forgotten games though could benefit from the exposure of a 'pro' patch...
Alright, if that's the case then it's all good. It's crazy how this ran headlines at GameSpot earlier. I flabbergasted.
@BAMozzy Yeah, this is really the only thing keeping me from grabbing a Pro at launch or later this year. As far as I'm aware, there's no guarantee that developers will patch their games for the Pro - Sony made it sound like it isn't mandatory during the PlayStation Meeting, which is a bit of a worry.
Whether that's just already released PS4 games, I guess we'll have to wait and see.
@ShogunRok welcome to the modern world, where people don't think for themselves and just accept everything they come across as fact without checking if it actually is
People was seriously stuip to believe this rumour
Crap reporting came from a Kotaku article?!?
First time for everything, 'spose.
/s just in case...
Things like this just goes to show how thick people actually are nowadays.
It must be "Let's all bash Sony this week"
This is exactly why I love this site.
@adf86 This week
feels like months ....Glad people take these. rumors with a pinch of salt..
I hope whoever buys kotaku just throws the whole site into the dumpster. Every single person working for gawker needs to be doing something other than what they consider "journalism"
@ShogunRok According to the documentation, only games from Sept 1st must have a 'Pro' mode All games before this though will run at least as well on the PS4 Pro as they do on the PS4. In some cases though, games will (or at least should) run better - in the same way that some games do on XB1s. These are the games that have unlocked frame rates and/or dynamic resolution. The only reason we see 'drops' is because the PS4 hardware can't keep up with the necessary processing. The improvements seen on XB1s over the XB1 tally exactly with the slight increase in the hardware specs so I can see the same happening with the PS4 Pro without the need to patch. Obviously games that maybe 'locked' to set of parameters will show no significant improvements - you may get less screen tear or texture pop-in but the game will still look and play virtually the same.
All games released before the 1st September though will not be above 1080p or run at higher frame rates (like playing Dark Souls 3 at 60) unless the developer patches in a new set of parameters for these games when running on a Pro. A game like DS3 for example, may well be 'capped' at 30fps and therefore can't run above that until the developer changes that 'cap'. Games like Fallout 4 and Witcher 3 - particularly around the notorious Fog - shouldn't have the frame rate drops because the hardware won't reach the same 'bottleneck' with more powerful hardware.
Obviously a game may only be built to 1080p standards - probably the majority of the Indie games and therefore these are unlikely to see any significant changes on the Pro.
At the very least, all the games released thus far will run at least as well as they do on PS4. Some may well run better without any need to patch - those with unlocked frame rates and dynamic resolution. I got the impression that moving forward, all new games, where possible, have to have a 'Pro' mode and as of October, this had to be built into the game. I can see it possibly being an issue for an indie game if they have focussed on a 1080/60 build or the engine/animations were designed around 30fps. There isn't a lot else you can do without going back on the development - not always possible with a small studio.
I think the big AAA games though will be the ones that this applies to more. Most (if not all) games are built to 4k with high level textures, lighting etc so the information is already in the game. All the developers need to do then is have one set of parameters for PS4 and a couple of sets of parameters for PS4 Pro (one for 1080p TVs and at least one for 4k). Tomb Raider has these as selectable options - a 4k/30, a 1080/30 with High visual settings and a 1080 unlocked frame rate version.
Doesn't quite seem enough information to consider this myth "busted". Fingers crossed you guys are right and it's just a misunderstanding.
as far as i'm aware, the only specific requirement is that games must have 1080p as a minimum resolution in "Pro mode".
Thank god! That would make this console even more outrageous!!
@Napples I read the Kotaku story earlier and had understood it to mean that Sony may charge developers to push a patch enabling Pro enhancements.
I actually just heard another rumor that made me laugh- that the Pro will be $399 only if you trade your original PS4 in...and get this..with a game as well! So you have to trade in the ps4 and one game(of your choosing apparently?)to get the price. Haha good stuff!
@ekreig They didnt charge for patches, WiiU VC games had added functionality with save states and miiverse integration. By that logic, Sony charging $15 on PS4 for their old PS2 games is the same thing but much more expensive.
Gamers need to understand the nature of news and stop attacking sites for clickbait while being the ones doing the clicking. Lots of these things are developing stories that change over time, it's how life works. Human error is a thing that exists.
@Fenriswolf- The gullible interwebs... sadly it happens all too often. Even worse when it applies to more than just gaming consoles and games: like voting.
Ha Microsoft up to its old tricks again!
[Am joking with that comment though wouldn't be surprised if true tbh]
@ShogunRok well actually there is precedent for this type of pricing back in the 80s I was there and this type of pricing on the various home computers and models definitely did exist. Regardless of the reason for the recent uproar that's actually irrelevant @dryrain is absolutely correct who is gonna pay for all the extra work?
I can see Pro only versions being released at a more expensive price point. Its a very real proposition and if you think EA, Activision, Ubisoft and all the other publishers aren't considering this you are naive.
What kind of rumor is this? Easily the dumbest thing I've ever heard. And I have heard (and said ) alot of dumb things.
Yes, every company is evil and greedy and all. But even they know that making patches cost money would be business suicide.
How did this rumor become a big thing? Patches won't become paid content. If they did, than companies are either incredibly desperate or very greedy.
@Grawlog Generally just comes down to whoever's writing it. With news like this, I was just trying to get it out fast and get straight to the point, hence the link and no quote. Technically this articles about the GAF posts rather than the original Japanese interview, so I just stuck with that. Hope that makes sense.
@starhops Yea, I couldnt agree more haha!
I'm wondering why a Dev would put out a free Pro update though...it would be like getting a free PS4 remaster. They only put those out for another quick Pay Day.
@Grawlog I think tons more work needs to be done. With the plethora of colours and ultra super textures then of course it does. I'm super suspicious of the whole thing.
@GamerDad66 Boom got it in one.
@GamerDad66 Maybe to renew interest on older games, there are a lot of future ps4 pro owner that want to buy games that show the power of the console.
@themcnoisy I thing Grawlog is right to be fair, we arnt talking more detailed textures per se just upscaling and more particle effects etc which is all fairly easy to scale at the development level. Although yeah I agree I wouldn't be suprised if the big pubs wernt looking at it.
Oh God the Xbox Fans are really trying hard to put off people buying the PS4Pro. It's not working tho because it's Number 1 on the USA & UK Amazon Gaming Charts (to pre-order, er which I have)
@Carl-G lol come on dude that makes us sound like raving Sony fanboys
@Grawlog no u have said pretty much the same thing as them😁
All I kept on seeing floating around, was bad press towards Sony this week...guess they moved away from nintendo for a moment.
@Carl-G I was thinking the same thing...the few X-box One buyers that are fans of that system are just having fun mocking up Sony and Nintendo. That was the reason I never bought the X-box Magazine when Sony and Nintendo Power were also around...at least Sony and Nintendo never bashed each other...they seemed to have the loyalty to each other, which is why I've stuck by these two companies.
@JLPick I know, it just feels like everyone's ganging up Sony for really stupid reasons. It's funny how a lot of the press are saying that xbox one s can do HDR, same as Pro but conveniently fail to mention that Sony are patching the same feature next week but if you have xbox one then you need the S which is pretty anticonsumer.
Bashing the competition is what Microsoft has always done and it's been getting bloody childish when you think this is grown men doing this. Even Phil Spencer has had to tell them to stop, whether that's true or not is another matter.
@grawlog I wouldn't say their avoiding the NPD because Xbox won, they did mention last month. They also haven't done an article about No Mans Sky been the best selling game in the UK for August, selling 100.000 more units then second place and that's a Sony positive story. I suspect they haven't had the time.
@banacheck
No, it just goes to show how some people don't spend all their time on a singular interest. I bet the thick person that fixes your car when it needs it, or the thick person designing award winning architecture wouldn't have a clue when it comes to PS4 Pro gaming updates.
@Carl-G
Yay, we all love it when a super rich, mega corporation wins against another super, mega rich corporation. To be fair to Microsoft, the govener retired and gave billions of his wealth to charity.
@BertoFlyingFox
Actually, as somebody who has worked in the field of journalism I think it's good when newspapers, magazines or websites get bashed for something that is clearly bs that they take and run with with without fact checking. I've seen too many times somebody just take a tip they heard, turn it into a full blown story and then later have to retract the whole thing. Human error, maybe but if you're a reporter you have to be better than that, period. I never wrote a story by just taking one little snippet of something and running with it, that is straight stupid.
@Utena-mobile
Phil Spencer is definitely not a class guy or genuine about anything. He's another talking head like Reggie Fils-Aimee or Andy House or Shawn Layden. He also doesn't deserve a lot of credit for the Xbox One's turn around. It's not hard to look at all the stuff Mattrick did wrong and do the opposite which is essentially what MS has done and I'm sure that was a company wide decision. Spencer was a big player for the Mattrick regime, that right there is a huge mark against him.
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