Report: Sony to Reveal Upgraded PlayStation 4 in September

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Quote

 

Sony will reveal the first details on an upgraded PlayStation 4 at a September 7 event in New York, French gaming website Gameblog reported today. VICE Gaming can confirm that it's heard the same information from multiple sources familiar with the planned rollout for the new machine. These sources chose to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to speak publicly about Sony's plans.

 

The upgraded PlayStation 4, which I first reported on back on in March for Kotaku, has the internal codename "Neo." (Sony's VR project was codenamed "Morpheus," both a reference to the sci-fi movie The Matrix). It's unclear what it will be called when the hardware is formally released, though some developers have nicknamed it the "PlayStation 4.5."

 

Just prior to E3 this year, Sony confirmed the existence of an upgraded PS4 to the Financial Times,revealing it was "intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4" and that every PS4 game would continue to run on the current hardware. The company didn't comment on the technical upgrades, though Giant Bomb reported in April it would feature an upgrade CPU, GPU, and more RAM.

 

One source, who chose to remain anonymous, described the upcoming event as a "technical showcase." As recently as a few weeks ago, Sony was still nailing down what would actually be shown.

Another source indicated to VICE Gaming that finalized development kits would be sent to developers around the same time.

 

http://www.vice.com/read/report-sony-to-unveil-upgraded-playstation-4-in-september

[Showan]

seems my assumptions are ringing true...

 

sony does seem like they trying to keep "neo" low key, while the media refuses to let that happen.

 

sony seems to be tryin to find a way to release neo, without drowning out psvr from peoples minds...

[+Asmodai MVC]

About a week before I thought they'd do it.  Tokyo Game Show starts Sept. 15th so I figured they'd just do it there.

[Vandalsquad]

Time to see if they've spec bumped to compete with Microsoft. 

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

5 hours ago, Vandalsquad said:

Time to see if they've spec bumped to compete with Microsoft. 

Not sure how they can do that a year in advance. If they were able to MS wouldn't be waiting till the end of next year either. Costs and what is available now will limit them as it always does.

 

Getting something out a year before is the element of competition. Look at how well the XB1S is selling as well and it's a spec bump equivalent to a sneeze. 

[Vandalsquad]

42 minutes ago, Audioboxer said:

Not sure how they can do that a year in advance. If they were able to MS wouldn't be waiting till the end of next year either. Costs and what is available now will limit them as it always does.

 

Getting something out a year before is the element of competition. Look at how well the XB1S is selling as well and it's a spec bump equivalent to a sneeze. 

I'm not expecting anything to compete with the Scorpio it will just be interesting to see if any clock speeds are increased or more ram thrown in compared to the leaked slides, not sure what that would actually achieve with CPU bottleneck they have at the moment but I'm no expert..

 

Suprised by XBS success to be honest, I would pick one up if was black just to box my Forza One to keep it mint and 4K video is nice. But wouldn't be jumping for the small increase in frames.

 

Will you be picking a Neo up at launch or waiting to see how great the improvements are? 

[Xerxes]

6 hours ago, Vandalsquad said:

Time to see if they've spec bumped to compete with Microsoft. 

They won't, trying to match the Scorpio now would be a mistake and make it cost far too much. My guess is the Neo might get branded/rebranded as the PS4 Slim to compete with the X1S (to which it will do better, since it's more powerful that it) and they'll bring out something meatier in ~1 year time to take on the X1 Scorpio. Just a gut feel, so take with a grain of salt. 

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

37 minutes ago, Vandalsquad said:

I'm not expecting anything to compete with the Scorpio it will just be interesting to see if any clock speeds are increased or more ram thrown in compared to the leaked slides, not sure what that would actually achieve with CPU bottleneck they have at the moment but I'm no expert..

 

Suprised by XBS success to be honest, I would pick one up if was black just to box my Forza One to keep it mint and 4K video is nice. But wouldn't be jumping for the small increase in frames.

 

Will you be picking a Neo up at launch or waiting to see how great the improvements are? 

Maybe some speed clock changes, but that is all I'd expect. Don't think the crappy Jaguar CPU can be OC'd anymore so at best possibly a GPU bump (as it's actually downclocked from factory standard). They'd have to find a way to deal with the additional heat though, that is why it is downclocked.

 

Probably not at launch. I'm picking up a PSVR headset and will be attending the EGX gaming expo in the UK this year, so two costly adventures within weeks of each other. The Neo will probably only have a handful of titles taking advantage of it day 1. I mean if FF15 actually has a patch for launch I'll be tested.... But expecting Square to have that Neo patch out anytime soon is wishful thinking.

 

 

9 minutes ago, Xerxes said:

They won't, trying to match the Scorpio now would be a mistake and make it cost far too much. My guess is the Neo might get branded/rebranded as the PS4 Slim to compete with the X1S (to which it will do better, since it's more powerful that it) and they'll bring out something meatier in ~1 year time to take on the X1 Scorpio. Just a gut feel, so take with a grain of salt. 

Now that would be suicide! Much better to take the Scorpio leading on the hardware front for a year or so and then do a PS5. With how far ahead the PS4 is just now it's very unlikely the Scorpio is going to put MS ahead, just make up ground. Neo will do some further modest damage in the mean time given it's launching a year before Scorpio and gamers are fickle people. Considering the amount of money people drop on lockboxes and MT's, can you really expect the average gamer saying he/she will wait on Scorpio rather than Neo and actually having the grit to hold off a year when things like FF15 get patched for Neo? (eventually).

 

Heck even a GTA5 patch will do some business, considering that frickin game is still in the top 10 NPD sales every single month.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Sony confirm

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/sony-announces-september-event-for-playstation-4-successor-neo-2016-8

[+Asmodai MVC]

There are rumors that Sony may be launching an updated version of the Vita as well.

Rumor mill is calling it Vita Trinity (to go with Project Morpheus and Neo) and it seems to be based on an FCC filing for a wireless chip.

 

I'm inclined to believe it's false however it would be cool to see and updated 64bit PS Vita that supported HEVC along with a similar spec'd new PS TV that supported 4k streams (Netflix, Hulu, etc.) that Sony could use to compete with Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, etc. (and ideally actually supported standard sd cards for memory instead of the proprietary ones).

 

If the PS Neo has hardware encode (and not just decode) then it could stream much higher quality at lower bandwidth remote play to a Vita-like device that had HEVC decode.

 

Anyway, I'm not holding my breath and with as poorly as the Vita has done I doubt Sony'd make another portable this soon but it would be interesting to see.

[Vandalsquad]

10 hours ago, Asmodai said:

There are rumors that Sony may be launching an updated version of the Vita as well.

Rumor mill is calling it Vita Trinity (to go with Project Morpheus and Neo) and it seems to be based on an FCC filing for a wireless chip.

 

I'm inclined to believe it's false however it would be cool to see and updated 64bit PS Vita that supported HEVC along with a similar spec'd new PS TV that supported 4k streams (Netflix, Hulu, etc.) that Sony could use to compete with Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, etc. (and ideally actually supported standard sd cards for memory instead of the proprietary ones).

 

If the PS Neo has hardware encode (and not just decode) then it could stream much higher quality at lower bandwidth remote play to a Vita-like device that had HEVC decode.

 

Anyway, I'm not holding my breath and with as poorly as the Vita has done I doubt Sony'd make another portable this soon but it would be interesting to see.

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see Japan only new release of the Vita. I'm on holidays at the moment here and every gaming shops largest dedicated floor space and stock is to the Vita by far. Its kind of mind blowing honestly the support it has here. 

 

I'll take some photos next time I come across one of the shops.

[+Asmodai MVC]

5 hours ago, Vandalsquad said:

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see Japan only new release of the Vita. I'm on holidays at the moment here and every gaming shops largest dedicated floor space and stock is to the Vita by far. Its kind of mind blowing honestly the support it has here.

 

I'd be surprised to see a Japan only new release of the Vita.  Just because if they spent the R&D and such to produce a new model I don't see why they'd limit it to one small market.  If they don't anticipate large demand in the U.S. they should just ship a low initial volume.

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

Quote

has the internal codename "Neo." (Sony's VR project was codenamed "Morpheus,"

I guess a prototype joystick would be called "Trinity" 

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

The Vita stuff was just a GAFer jumping the gun because of a wireless trademark. Its most likely just upgraded wireless for Neo.

[+Asmodai MVC]

11 minutes ago, Audioboxer said:

The Vita stuff was just a GAFer jumping the gun because of a wireless trademark. Its most likely just upgraded wireless for Neo.

I stated it was based off of a wireless trademark.  There are actually two wireless trademarks submitted though, one IS speculated to be for NEO the other however has a model number similar to the existing Vita and thus gave birth to this rumor:

 

Quote

While it is normal to think this is the wireless chip that is going to be used for NEO, it may not be the case. As 4gamer.net points out via teardown of the PlayStation Vita, the model number on the wireless chip is “J20H056”.

The test report for device ID AK8M16DAM2 lists the model number “J20H091”. And there are actually two wireless chips sent in to FCC. The other device ID is “AK8M16DFL1”. This is the chip that is speculated to be used for NEO.

Source

[soniqstylz]

Pfft -- a new Vita should be codenamed "Cypher".

[calimike]

PS4 Slim is ugly  OMG!

PS4 Slim put on auction https://www.gumtree.com/p/ps4/sony-ps4-console-latest-slim-line-model-not-in-stores-yet-brand-new-in-sealed-box/1184126779

 

Rumour: PS4 Slim Hardware Images Allegedly Leak Online

http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2016/08/rumour_ps4_slim_hardware_images_allegedly_leak_online

[soniqstylz]

Someone about to get fired.

[Vandalsquad]

8 hours ago, calimike said:

Rumour: PS4 Slim Hardware Images Allegedly Leak Online

http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2016/08/rumour_ps4_slim_hardware_images_allegedly_leak_online

Uglier than original - Check.

Don't put the dam USB ports to back of console or at least add extras - Check.

Size comparison nearly identical - Check.

No UHD 4K - Check.

 

 

At least its matt black all over.

[compl3x]

I don't hate it that much. It would look clean in an AV stack. If this is legit then at least they ditched that stupid two-tone matte and gloss cover.

[soniqstylz]

I don't think Ps4 Slim = PS4 Neo.

[+Asmodai MVC]

11 hours ago, Vandalsquad said:

Uglier than original - Check.

Don't put the dam USB ports to back of console or at least add extras - Check.

Size comparison nearly identical - Check.

No UHD 4K - Check.

 

 

At least its matt black all over.

I agree it's uglier but that's obviously a matter of personal taste.  They did add more obvious power and eject buttons as people seemed to have an issue with them on the launch version. (I pretty much never use them personally, I just use the controllers to do both functions)

Why would they put the USB ports on the back?  I'd HATE that as I have to juggle things as it is.  MORE would certainly be nice but I'm pretty sure the slim version of the PS3 came with LESS than the launch version so at least they didn't go that route.

It does seem smaller to me in the size comparisons but it's not a huge difference... that said it's already pretty small (compared to the launch Xbox One anyway)

Why would they put UHD 4k on the slim?  I really don't think the Slim is the "Neo" or "PS4k" or whatever they end up calling it. This is a cheaper cost reduced PS4 that will replace the existing models and sell alongside the "Premium" PS4k/Neo.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Pricing is key. It's a drab looking slab as they've removed the flashing light and the need for two pieces to be cut to make up the casing to save on costs. Looks don't really matter if you've got the cheapest console on the market which is more powerful than what the competition currently offers at a higher cost. 

 

Neo will handle 4K and for at least 10~12 months be the most powerful console. The pricing of it will be the interesting thing to look out for.

 

Also considering how small the original PS4 is it's impressive they've even cut anything off. The biggest factor is price cutting, not size.

 

 

 

 

[Vandalsquad]

9 hours ago, Asmodai said:

I agree it's uglier but that's obviously a matter of personal taste.  They did add more obvious power and eject buttons as people seemed to have an issue with them on the launch version. (I pretty much never use them personally, I just use the controllers to do both functions)

Why would they put the USB ports on the back?  I'd HATE that as I have to juggle things as it is.  MORE would certainly be nice but I'm pretty sure the slim version of the PS3 came with LESS than the launch version so at least they didn't go that route.

It does seem smaller to me in the size comparisons but it's not a huge difference... that said it's already pretty small (compared to the launch Xbox One anyway)

Why would they put UHD 4k on the slim?  I really don't think the Slim is the "Neo" or "PS4k" or whatever they end up calling it. This is a cheaper cost reduced PS4 that will replace the existing models and sell alongside the "Premium" PS4k/Neo.

USB ports on the back for audio mixers used with most medium-high range headsets, otherwise you constantly have a cable coming from the back of the mixer flipped around to the front of the Playstation, charging they can leave ports on the front that's fine. (Not that it matters since there's no optical out anymore which mixes rely on)

 

Why wouldn't they when the xbox S does already at a cheaper price point? It's a massive selling point. I think Sony may have been blind sited by the xbox slim having UHD but. Price will be key with this, they'll have to come in at a good price.

[compl3x]

15 hours ago, soniqstylz said:

I don't think Ps4 Slim = PS4 Neo.

 

It isn't. It is a simple hardware revision. Probably a little more power efficient and refined manufacturing techniques or something like past consoles revisions.

 

21 hours ago, Vandalsquad said:

Uglier than original - Check.

Don't put the dam USB ports to back of console or at least add extras - Check.

Size comparison nearly identical - Check.

No UHD 4K - Check.

 

 

At least its matt black all over.

 

No UHD as in games or movie playback? Why would you expect there to be 4k gaming in a simple hardware revision? I was surprised to see it in the S.