UPDATE: Digital Foundry have now confirmed the console and specs are real, reporting that “Sony is now openly sharing this specification.” Dev kits are already in the hands of developers.
They also report that the memory will be boosted from 8GB GDDR5 at 176GB/s to 8GB GDDR5 at 218GB/s, giving 24% more bandwidth and 512MB more useable memory.
However, and this seems very odd, they also report the console will not be a 4K blu-ray drive, which means games are still limited to 50gb and you wouldn’t be able to play 4K blu-ray movies. As I said, that seems very odd.
Giantbomb have confirmed new details regarding the PS4K from “multiple sources”, one of which is the codename, Neo. That of course is another link back to The Matrix, with PlayStation VR originally going by the name of Project Morpheus.
The Neo will (allegedly) have the same 8 Jaguar Core CPU as the PlayStation 4 but running at 2.1 GHz rather than the PS4’s 1.6GHz, whilst the GPU gets an upgrade to an improved AMD GCN, 36 CUs at 911 MHz. When the new version of the PS4 launches all games will be required to run in a ‘base’ mode, which is for all current PlayStation 4s, and a ‘Neo’ mode, which will give better resolution and better frame rates.
Giantbomb say there will be no Neo exclusive games, and “Sony explicitly and repeatedly states that developers cannot offer exclusive gameplay options or special unlockables for NEO players.” They also report there will be no PlayStation VR exclusives for the Neo.
No price has been given but reports suggested the console will retail around $399.
These details are more in line with what I was expecting, there was no way Sony were going to make the PS4K vastly different to the PS4 and these reports support that. The Neo, PS4K, whatever it is called, will simply offer a graphical boost to games and 4K blu-ray, that’s it. No exclusives, no special features, nothing that would fragment the user base, and very little that could cause current PlayStation 4 owners to be upset.
Source: Giantbomb
camdaz
The games will have to play on both PS4’s and without extra features for Neo or Sony would risk alienating current PS4 owners.
Tomhlord
That’s what the report says :)
camdaz
Yeah, what I meant is if Sony had said that it was OK for PS4K games to have extra features it would alienate original PS4 owners.
hazelam
whoa.
ron_mcphatty
I get the feeling this will end up being this generation’s ‘slim’, I’m all for hardware revisions to improve longevity, power usage, noise and add a few media features. Performance upgrades are of course a worry but I’m sure the devs and publishers dislike the idea of dual development just as much as us customers rage over the prospect of being forced to upgrade, so it’ll probably never be an issue. If the PS4K is a slim then I’ll definitely be interested, just need to win the lottery so I can buy a 4K telly and a PSVR now!
Tuffcub
“customers rage over the prospect of being forced to upgrade”
Who is forcing anyone? It’s more like a PS 4.1, not a 4.5, a couple of extra frames and the ability to play 4K blu rays isn’t a huge upgrade. If there was extra content, exclusive games, then yes, rage, but as it stands the only things garuteed are a better frame rate and 4K Blu ray. Games dont have to run in 4K, they don’t have to have extra graphical effects, and I doubt they will. Upping frame rates due to a better processor is easy, so that’s probably all Neo games will get. For someone without a 4K TV, some extra frames isn’t going to warrant spending £350 on a new console.
Avenger
Maybe quote the entire sentence next time. Let’s not get Daily Mail-style over this :P
Tuffcub
ELENA LOOKS STUNNING IN A LOW CUT TOP AS SHE SUNS HERSELF ON THE BEACHES OF MADAGASCAR
ron_mcphatty
Maybe ‘forced’ was a bit strong, but the rumour that games could be developed to look slightly prettier on a higher spec PS4 makes me think that devs who do dual development will eventually have to sacrifice features on the lower specced model. I’m thinking of Perfect Dark on the N64 which ran without the expansion pack but massively stripped back. That’s probably a bad example and having thought about it a bit more plenty of cross-buy games work perfectly on PS4 and Vita, they just use the bigger consoles power for graphical polish.
I’d still buy a PS4K without a 4K telly, as long as there’s slim-like benefits and some sort of facelift. I think I ended up selling my launch PS3 on eBay and only £25 to upgrade to a Slim, definitely worth it.
Avenger
Interesting stuff. Allegedly the memory bandwidth gets an approximate 60GB/s boost as well.
I’d disagree that this couldn’t be a bit disruptive though. It’ll give developers more to play with, and potentially increase their resource budgets if they so choose. So games get better looking and run at 1080p@60FPS in neo mode, but will they look and run as well in base mode on standard PS4’s. 1-2 years down the line does the current PS4 become as desirable as a budget PC. Hopefully not, but it’ll depend on what developers target for in their development.
Still, if Sony had to do it then I guess this was the best possible way.
double-o-dave
If it enables me to play any PS4 game at 4K and 60fps then I’ll be up for it. Unfortunately it means buying a 4k TV too and I only just bought a new TV last year – Looks like I’ll be squeezing the ‘what was a new’ 50″ into the corner of my bedroom. My bank balance has taken quite a hammering lately and this ain’t gonna help!
Tuffcub
You could just… not buy one?
double-o-dave
Just like, I could just not have one for the road when I’m in the pub… Not gonna happen! I’m sold.
ron_mcphatty
I blame TSA for compelling me to buy all this stuff, I feel wholly free of responsibility and think the reviewers really need to started adding ‘If you can’t afford this game you could just not buy it.’ after every 7/10 or better review :)
double-o-dave
Good call.
bunimomike
The power you’d need to play at 4K/60 is way, WAY passed this. You’re fine to hold off for a while.
Steelhead
I hope the ‘base’ games don’t begin to suffer in comparison as the generation progresses. But if the original PS4 sees a price cut after this I will happily snap one up.
Tomhlord
I was properly worried about the initial leaks and rumours. Fragmentation, aaargh!
But, if this is true, if, it sounds like a near idea. Don’t impeed existing PS4 owners, offer something nicer for those who pay.
Phones and tablets get an upgrade each year, with older models receiving a price cut, why not games consoles?
Tomhlord
*neat
beeje13
Hmmm, this isn’t going away… Also if its just for graphical improvements, why is the CPU clocked so much (25-30%). This should enable higher framerates.
This WILL put non-neo players at a real disadvantage in online games. Unless, they lock the specs (somehow) to standard PS4 level for online multiplayer.
That’s seriously high GPU power for a console though, over twice that of the PS4. It should do the 4k job easily.
It is going to be alot harder to keep cool though.
wonkey-willy
pair of ray bans and some calvins that would make it cool?
bunimomike
4K is four times the resolution of 1080p. Not sure how this hardware can even get near that. :-\
beeje13
For demanding titles, 2560x1440p ‘halfway house’ upscaled to 4k. It will give very good results. Some basic games could reach higher, even native 4k, with good software engineering. If we got 1080p60 on PS360, we can get 4k60 on this PS4.5 thing.
There is at least one current PS4 game that renders above 1080p and downscales.
I’m still against this concept though, it could change things forever.
Avenger
I’d hazard a guess and say that the CPU will have a low nm production process so the thermal efficiency will be better. Can’t remember the exact figures, but I remember they couldn’t do the new lower one on PS4 launch. Either that or they have better colling hardware. 0.5GHz is a significant increase temperature wise.
wonkey-willy
the perfect excuse for me to give the missus that our “14 black and white tele needs and upgrade..
Starman
What’s in it for a developer though? They’ll be asked to spend more time on one platforms version of a game for no extra sales and they won’t be able to sell exclusive content either. After all, 99% couldn’t even be bothered adding trophies to games, Sony had to make it mandatory.