Giant Bomb: PS4.5 / PS4K is codenamed NEO, more info

As a value calculation that's a bit nonsensical, though - the split '$400/$400' offered 3 years of playing games on PS4. To have '$800' now for a PC in lieu of that same $400/$400 would require waiting 3 years... or ignoring that wait, and the value one had in those years. Unless, one could build for $800 in 2013 a PC to meet or beat this new PS4 model. In which case the value equation would undoubtedly swing in favour of that option.

umm What? Obviously, if you spent $800 on a PC in 2013, your incremental upgrade today would be less than spending $800 on a PC now, or if not then you'd have one hell of a PC at another $800. Not to mention the added benefit of what a PC also brings besides gaming, and lets also not forget the cheaper prices for PC games.

Bottom line is if you want the best of the best you buy PC. These .5 upgrades to consoles just seem pointless to me against the aspect of PC gaming.The only real thing you're losing out on are console exclusives, which are becoming less and less. Note, i haven't been a PC gamer since the 90s and it's starting to look like i'm going back
 
Sounds pretty awesome. PS4 will probably be slim'd, too.

I think I'll get a NEO and a new PC with Polaris 10/Pascal equivalent, plus a 6-core CPU for work and I'll be in heaven.
 
GPU upgrade seems decent but I will simply assume that the low clock of the CPU has been the limiting factor in a bunch of recent games, so I'm not quite sure why they didn't focus on that primarily. Apart from the GPU this sounds more like PS4OC.

I'm still surprised this turned out to be "real". I thought a slimmed down PS4 with 4k bluray drive and support for 4K UI would be a good idea to draw more people in who want a 4k bluray player but I never expected a spec bump and 'splitting' the user base.

And yes I'm salty because I bought a cheap-ish ps4 last winter in anticipation of Uncharted 4 and Horizon. Well, lesson learnt for the next generation.

Because there are no AMD CPU's that will offer that better performance within the compatibility range they wanted, they didnt want to spend that much money and they didn't think it was worth it.

This will at the very least give you far more stable framerates of the base OG PS4 SKU with much higher visual fidelity.
 
That's what I get out of it too. The GPU is nice, but it is going to be bottlenecked on multiple fronts. I'm surprised they didn't try to push the bandwidth more.

Maybe they don't want to slap OG PS4 owner that much, slap just a little bit for the first time, when they used to it, slap them harder.
 
I dont know why you guys are making such a big deal about it. They wont separate the userbase and all games will run on the ps4. If anyone should be mad it should be future ps4k owners. Games will be built with the ps4 in mind and then upgrade some things for ps4k. Regardless if ps4k existed or not, your ps4 games would still look the same.
 
umm What? Obviously, if you spent $800 on a PC in 2013, your incremental upgrade today would be less than spending $800 on a PC now, or if not then you'd have one hell of a PC at another $800.

Sure... maybe we're talking at cross purposes, but I thought you were saying that from a value point of view, if weighing a PS4 upgrade or a PC, one might view it as 'the same' to spend $800 on a PC now. Perhaps I have you wrong, but if that was the point, I'm just contending that it's not so simple.
 
I wonder, will Uncharted 4 run at 60 FPS on the PS4K? I might pick one up just to experience that game at that framerate lol. Final Fantasy XV would also get a nice boost. Considering the fact that I am an ardent PC gamer with dim views on consoles themselves, the fact that I am considering picking one up says something lol.
 
What are the chances of being able to swap a hard drive from a PS4 into a PS4K, keeping everything on it? I seem to remember something about not being able to backup a PS4 onto a different PS4 but my memory could be full of crap.
 
I wonder, will Uncharted 4 run at 60 FPS on the PS4K? I might pick one up just to experience that game at that framerate lol. Final Fantasy XV would also get a nice boost. Considering the fact that I am an ardent PC gamer with dim views on consoles themselves, the fact that I am considering picking one up says something lol.

Depend on how close to 60fps now. If PS4 version running at 45-50 and lock in 30, very likely to get 60 with drop on Neo.
 
I'm at the opposite end here. I have a pretty decent PC for gaming and if I can get a PS4 that runs some of the exclusives at 60FPS then that would be so great.

It's so jarring to play some of these things at 30 when you have been playing at 60. I know that makes me sound like a snob so oops. But I'm excited at the idea of Uncharted 4 and Bloodborne at 60FPS. I don't even care about the 4K aspect. I just want a smooth gameplay experience.

The most disappointing part of all his is that it's still using the cross menu system. It's so terribly dated and non intuitive.

I also really hope this allows us to have folders though! In fact forget PS4K and just name it PS4olders! Day one! 😬
 
How are we sure what GiantBomb said is true? What are their many unamed sources? It seems only GiantBomb posted such details. The specs posted are the least minimum we can expect with the new PS4 otherwise Sony wouldn't risk releasing a new console.
 
Wow, so what happens when og ps4s get crappy ports? Does everyone really think the developers will really try as I am worried most review copies will be the code first for the neo version.
 
So the upgrade actually involves bottlenecking and no native 4k.. I still think this is not happening, and we've been happily clicking on all these sites' articles based on supposedly reliable sources.
 
A dev did not say that. A craft brewer said that. The craft brewer was a dev many years ago.

Yes because I'm totally sure this former devs experience with the industry totally vanished into smoke the second he stopped being a dev.

The fact he was a former dev and worked in the industry should have credibility regardless of whatever his current profession may be.
 
Sure... maybe we're talking at cross purposes, but I thought you were saying that from a value point of view, if weighing a PS4 upgrade or a PC, one might view it as 'the same' to spend $800 on a PC now. Perhaps I have you wrong, but if that was the point, I'm just contending that it's not so simple.

The whole thing with consoles were that you made an initial cash outlay of such and such and that piece of hardware would last you a solid 5+ years or whatever. No need to upgrade, no need for nothing. You'd spend money on games and that's about it. Now we're talking 3 years and another price of a console but you're only getting an incremental upgrade? Where's the value in that? Why not just buy a PC at this point?

The console manufacturers screwed us this time with underpowered hardware and now it looks like they all want us to pony up cash for an upgrade so we get "solid frame rates" I get the mentality behind it, ya know. For the people that want it, it's there. It doesn't seem like a value purchase to me next to just going to PC.
 
That's what I get out of it too. The GPU is nice, but it is going to be bottlenecked on multiple fronts. I'm surprised they didn't try to push the bandwidth more.

That should be because of the price limit, nowadays they can't charge more than $400 for a console without people going nuts.
I wouldn't complain if they really push it further and cost more and selling along with the current one, as long as the games works in both of them.
 
So the upgrade actually involves bottlenecking and no native 4k.. I still think this is not happening, and we've been happily clicking on all these sites' articles based on supposedly reliable sources.

My same thoughts too.

No mention of 4k blu ray player?

I was wondering the same.

That is why I am not trusting this source at all. Remember all the supposed leaking sources about PS4 , all leaked 4 GB Memory only and to all big surprise the PS4 had 8 GB GDDR5 and even some devs didn.t know until the reveal. I expect the same with the new PS4.
 
Theres going to be plenty of people who will express their "concern" over Sony splitting the userbase,and how their will be exclusive titles for ps4k despite all signs indicating otherwise.
 
You can already do that now.

I don't really get the logic of some people here.

It's pretty crazy. People are acting as if there is some gold standard of perfection on PS4 at the moment that's going to be ruined by this slightly more powerful SKU.

As you say, most PS4 games struggle to run at locked framerates. PS4K won't change that.
 
Wouldn't old games run maybe a bit faster on NEO without any dev support considering that it's the same architecture but running at faster clocks? Just like old PC games on newer tech. Obviously games won't take advantage of the full computing power but we should see considerable improvements.
 
Wouldn't old games run maybe a bit faster on PS4 without any dev support considering that it's the same architecture but running at faster clocks? Just like old PC games on newer tech. Obviously games won't take advantage of the full computing power but we should see considerable improvements.


If the game is locked in at a certain frame rate then no. I would imagine the developers would have to add a profile via patch that allows for higher frame rates, better lighting etc.
 
The whole thing with consoles were that you made an initial cash outlay of such and such and that piece of hardware would last you a solid 5+ years or whatever. No need to upgrade, no need for nothing. You'd spend money on games and that's about it. Now we're talking 3 years and another price of a console but you're only getting an incremental upgrade? Where's the value in that? Why not just buy a PC at this point?

It's still more expensive? Unless it's not, in which case, you have a point :)

Absolutely, Sony is tinkering with the value perception here, and it's risky to do so. But there is room to tinker before it necessarily becomes better value to 'build-your-own console' in the PC environment. A new console every 3 years can still be better value and offer more stability and more simplicity than a PC (even if less than other consoles in previous cycles). If we were talking about new $400 boxes every year the equation would change again, obviously, but we're not at that level of tinkering yet.

And in any event, this is all optional. You may HAVE to upgrade to maintain the psychological security of 'i have the best playstation has to offer' , but you don't HAVE to upgrade to simply have the same experience you would have had with your existing PS4 if this newer model didn't exist. As long as Sony sticks to the kind of management policies outlined here around disparities between original and neo versions of games. Indeed, if this approach lengths the PS4 software cycle, it's arguably could end up offering you a longer tail of software support than traditionally.
 
It's all coming together:

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Dylan - Dutch?
 
If the game is locked in at a certain frame rate then no. I would imagine the developers would have to add a profile via patch that allows for higher frame rates, better lighting etc.

I'm not expecting graphic improvements just performance. I'm think it's possible to see games with dips under 30fps, games that couldn't sustain locked framerates on PS4 but stable on NEO. I think it's possible.
 
I am starting to think the doubt Sony has is whether to go with 8 or 12 Jaguar cores. Going 12 at 2,1 GHz would make the CPU 100% more powerful and more in line with the GPU upgrade.
 
The whole thing with consoles were that you made an initial cash outlay of such and such and that piece of hardware would last you a solid 5+ years or whatever. No need to upgrade, no need for nothing. You'd spend money on games and that's about it. Now we're talking 3 years and another price of a console but you're only getting an incremental upgrade? Where's the value in that? Why not just buy a PC at this point?

The console manufacturers screwed us this time with underpowered hardware and now it looks like they all want us to pony up cash for an upgrade so we get "solid frame rates" I get the mentality behind it, ya know. For the people that want it, it's there. It doesn't seem like a value purchase to me next to just going to PC.

You don't need to buy the new PS4. The base model will still play every game of this generation so that makes your argument somewhat invalid. Or imagine if you wanted to experience the latest PC game you HAD to upgrade your graphics card every 3 years, which is how you're framing the PS4K here. PS4K means you have a similar option to the PC world. Get more up to date performance for your games by spending a bit more on the upgraded console (and/or trading in the older model for a decent discount), versus PC where you have a similar outlay for an improved GPU and/or CPU for your PC to get similar benefits.

It's all the same, but this now opens up such options to people who prefer the simplicity of console systems, people like myself. Still vy far the cheapest option to experience the latest games, plus of course Sony's great exclusives like Bloodborne or U4.
 
I'm not expecting graphic improvements just performance. I'm think it's possible to see games with dips under 30fps, games that couldn't sustain locked framerates but they would on NEO. I think it's possible.

Of course it's possible. But some games are locked at 30 fps by design. So for those games to extend beyond the cap the developers would have to unlock it... That is after they've optimized the game for the more powerful hardware. Unfortunately it isn't as simple as a PC because we're still dealing with a closed loop system with a custom OS.


Edit: 36 CU = 2304 shaders.
 
I'm not expecting graphic improvements just performance. I'm think it's possible to see games with dips under 30fps, games that couldn't sustain locked framerates but they would on NEO. I think it's possible.

That's what you'd see if it just had the clock bumps.
 
Wow, so what happens when og ps4s get crappy ports? Does everyone really think the developers will really try as I am worried most review copies will be the code first for the neo version.
Remember all the "downgrade" and "parity" controversies? PC users complaining about barebones ports for years?

The lowest denominator or largest base gets prioritized first.
 
Sony better set up a minimum performance requirements for the PS4: I wouldn't like to see 30 fps games in the NEO and 12 fps games in the original.
 
With over 40 million "Base" PS4s out there I don't think devs are going to give you 20fps games. At least not if they don't want backlash.

What makes you think devs give a fuck about backlash

People really think this is going to end in sunshine and roses for both Base and Neo users?
 
The whole thing with consoles were that you made an initial cash outlay of such and such and that piece of hardware would last you a solid 5+ years or whatever. No need to upgrade, no need for nothing. You'd spend money on games and that's about it. Now we're talking 3 years and another price of a console but you're only getting an incremental upgrade? Where's the value in that? Why not just buy a PC at this point?

The console manufacturers screwed us this time with underpowered hardware and now it looks like they all want us to pony up cash for an upgrade so we get "solid frame rates" I get the mentality behind it, ya know. For the people that want it, it's there. It doesn't seem like a value purchase to me next to just going to PC.


Yea thats just wrong. What choice did sony have when they released the ps4. Make it more powerful and more expensive? Hell, I would have liked that but most people wouldn't (Best example is the ps3). They had to make a console that is underpowered
 
I dont know why you guys are making such a big deal about it. They wont separate the userbase and all games will run on the ps4. If anyone should be mad it should be future ps4k owners. Games will be built with the ps4 in mind and then upgrade some things for ps4k. Regardless if ps4k existed or not, your ps4 games would still look the same.
You don't know that the ps4 games won't be just the crappy version. I'm worried about it.
 
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