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[gundamkyoukai]

How is it irrational? It makes sense.

How does it make sense ?
Your PS4 is not going to all of sudden stop working .
You still have all of advantages \ disadvantages that comes with consoles gaming .
Use it to play for next 5 to 7 years like you always would .

 

[Hawk269]

It is kinda odd how silent Sony is on this whole thing. I feel like they are either A) Trying to keep things low key so as to keep expectations in check or B) Drop the nukes

Well, when you send out invites to a press event, why would they be saying anything before said event? It just does not make sense for them to say anything. Perhaps, when the Slim PS4 was sold and known about they could of said that they have no comment at this time, but tune in on the 7th for "official" information. But expecting Sony to say something when they have people flying in all over the world for the event, would not be wise or worth it for what they plan to talk/show.

 

[Nightengale]

Any update on the theory that this show is replacing Sonys normal pre holiday EU press conference slot (Gamescom, Paris Games Week) this year?

Still dont think we have heard one way or another if they will be doing a stage thing in Paris again which makes me think they are not.


Maybe that means WILD will be here!

No, but I doubt it.

We also only learned Sony will be doing its TGS conference like a week ago. Given that a PGW conference would be end October, we should only learn about it by the end of the month if it's at PGW.

Unlike last year, Sony has no reason to pre-empt a conference. Last year they only did so to explain why they're skipping Gamescom.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

that's really weird. I dont get it

That is just the press being stupid like usual .
We saw loads of it before and a while after this gen start .
In fact this gen it what made me write off the gaming press for good .
Well at least most of them.

 

[wapplew]

When was the last time Sony employee hype about Sony conference on social media?
They'll release a blog post and that's it.

 

[Nightengale]

When was the last time Sony employee hype about Sony conference on social media?

PSX.

 

[serversurfer]

Hmm. You've never offered me a high five before. I don't know if I can trust this

lol <3

NEO can still last people 5 to 6 years. Its not as if crossgen stops existing. What you should not expect, is for PS5 to be constrained by Jaguar cores.

If you're not expecting a 5-6 year gap before PS5 launches, what you're saying is self-contradictory. If they start dropping support for PS4.5 in 2019, they'll be dropping support for hardware that's only three years old. House indicates quite clearly that doing something like that would be unfair to PS4 buyers, strongly implying it's not something they would ever consider doing. I'm not sure why you believe this implies they'll be throwing PS4.5 buyers directly under the bus, when House goes out of his way to say what a dick move that'd be.

You claim — tirelessly — that the obsolescence clock started clicking on Neo three years ago, but not only has House said nothing of the sort, he's implied all of their consoles should expect similar lifespans of 5-6 years. He never said, "All but Neo, naturally." You made that part up, but you keep saying it like it's true. It's getting a bit infuriating.

I'm talking about the basic concept of a midget refresh, with NEO and Slim both taking the place of a general slim model that would have been released around this time. Atlas get what i'm saying right.

I totally understand what you're saying. I'm trying to explain to you that Neo has nothing whatsoever in common with a slim, apart from your imagined belief that it will only get a half-gen worth of full support. Maybe in a couple of years, Sony will tell everyone who just bought the newest and most expensive PlayStation that it isn't good enough anymore, but currently the only one claiming that is you. Claiming that Sony has said so is pretty disingenuous, when House seems to have said the opposite, in a couple of different ways. You just ignore those comments though, because it doesn't fit your narrative.

Scaling a frame buffer for a UI is completely different from determining an entire graphics pipeline based on someone's TV.

Not really, no.

if(UHD){}

What code gets changed will depend on the dev and the game.

And you would benefit a lot from not being as antagonistic as you have been acting.

Sorry, but you're relentless, so I'm getting a little frustrated, because as I said, you let nothing dissuade you. Consequently, it doesn't really feel like a discussion per se. It's just you chanting that Neo is nothing more than a glorified slim, and me occasionally pointing out they never actually said that. And, oh, look, actual slim… =/

Interesting. So even though the leaks have always suggested 2017, people started believing in 2016 just because SONY said they'll be adopting Apple's release strategies?

They didn't say that either. That was the misinterpretation of first-to-post, so that's all that gets repeated. Here's what he actually said.

“I was surprised by the step of announcing something over a year ahead of time,” he said. “The dynamics of the tech industry are such that there’s a much heavier emphasis on immediate gratification than there was. A lot of that is to do with how Apple has very cleverly and elegantly managed the ‘available now’ approach. So yes, that was a slight surprise to me. We experienced this ourselves, when, in 2013, very much in line with our previous strategies, we announced a concept and a name for PlayStation 4, and everyone said ‘where’s the box? How dare you?!’ That was the point we realised, well, we hadn’t changed but the world around us had.”

So rather than, "Neo will get an Apple-style launch," a better paraphrasing might be, "I'm surprised they'd announce this early after the shade thrown at us for not showing the finalized case at our announcement, but that prolly all came from iPhone fans rather than XBox fans, amirite?"

I try. Thanks for noticing! I see I even won a nonexistent award upthread, which is always entertaining. I'm here for the leaks like everyone else but I don't mind injecting a little reality check from time to time when things start to get silly. I won't be surprised or disappointed if the leaked 4.2TF product is unveiled as the final but founded #TeamModestBump rooted in nothing but competitive optimistic spirit.

Seconded. Your posts are always helpful.

There are four reasons I currently lean heavily toward believing in 2016:

Firstly there are the dates when titles submitted for certification need to support Neo mode. Introducing those requirements for titles that are trying to hit deadlines to launch for the holiday season makes zero sense if there isn't a pressing reason for them to be finished. If Neo was releasing next year, why not give developers a January 1st or later deadline to patch games coming out this Fall?

Secondly there is the comment about Apple's announce / availability model being the right one for the market today. That seems to be a strong indicator.

Thirdly it seems clear that Neo isn't going to be more powerful than Scorpio in raw specs alone, so it makes the most sense to get it out as early as possible to get your time in the spotlight as "the new hotness." Nobody will be as surprising or impressed when a console shows up 12-14 months later and claims a modest power advantage.

Fourthly there are plenty of signs Sony will be announcing Neo next week alongside the Slim. Why run the risk of torpedoing holiday sales by unveiling a system you're asking people to wait until next year for? In Microsoft's case they were clearly in a rough spot and wanted to steal some of Sony's thunder but there's no corresponding incentive for Sony to follow suit.

They may well launch this holiday, but from my perspective, the only reason for them to do so would be if whatever tech they were planning to use in Q1 became available for Q4 instead. I generally saw Q1 as a preferable time to launch Neo anyway though, so moving the launch forward and by doing so missing the tech you wanted just seems doubly dumb to me. /shrug

Regarding your first point though, has anyone confirmed the October deadlines apart from the PDF that was apparently being written around the same time Osiris was being told, "Tentatively Q1"? If they were considering a holiday launch, they'd need devs to be ready, hence the date in the PDF, but we wouldn't necessarily hear if they pushed the date back. In fact, per the PDF, anything launching 30 days from now needs to ship Neo-ready, but they won't even have final hardware until next week at the earliest. Shouldn't games launching October 1st have gone gold already and be on their way to the disc burners? So maybe the submission deadline already changed, or changed to, "You're still on the hook, but patch due date TBA." It's not like anyone's allowed to tell us, after all.

Third point is fair; if their stuck with weak specs then yes, they should launch early and cheap. Personally, I expect Sony to have planned well enough that they'll be able to launch at their leisure at a price of their choosing — especially given that MS kindly detailed their own plans — but I guess we'll see.

Regarding your fourth point, I don't really see any potential overlap between PS4 and PS4.5 sales, but I guess part of that depends on whether they're forced to go cheap. If PS4.5 is really $399, then it will seem like kind of a no-brainer upgrade for anyone in the market, especially if PS4 is still $299. So yes, that may encourage a lot of people to change their purchase from PS4 to PS4.5, even if the absolute price of PS4.5 causes them to simply delay their purchase even longer than they already have. I actually think it's better for them if Neo launches at a price point that the price sensitive buyers scoff at, leaving them properly focused on the bargain-priced PS4, and making the actual release date of Neo less relevant. (I think "enthusiasts" are equally happy to buy at any time of the year. They obviously don't like waiting, but they'll wait for something good enough.)

It's actually only 3cm taller than the standard PS4.

That's like a 60% increase in volume, assuming the same footprint. That's pretty significant, I'd say.

What I really find significant though is that they're only on pace to have ~1M built by March…

 

[vpance]

The box the 5200 came in was bigger than almost 3 original Xbox boxes. It was MASSIVE when it came out. Later versions the packaging was reduced significantly. Funny thing is that the motherboard in the 5200 is actually not that big and the top part of the 5200 was just a holder for the controllers. I could never get use to the controllers on the 5200, yet the games were damn good looking for it's time. Pac-man actually looked like pac-man versus the trainwreck that was the 2600 version.

Man, I only have brief memories of the 2600. That tank game was so fun. Joined PC master race soon after.

 

[Hawk269]

Like many of you, I have been reading this thread a lot, especially in the last week. Mainly looking for leaks or any hard information. But one thing after reading a ton of responses that has stuck out to me are those that suggest that if the specs are what they originally mentioned in the documents that some fell it is just "meh". I don't get that. A 4.2TF System with a much faster clocked CPU is a pretty substantial jump from the original PS4 specs, I mean it is a significant increase in overall system performance.

So I have to ask, why do so many think that if the system turns out to be a 4.2tf GPU and a faster GPU, why do you not think it is a siginificant improvement? I have the Nathan Drake Uncharted 4 System and I love it and had the launch unit before, but if Sony is going to put out a system that is more powerful, my ass will be at Gamestop the minute they start taking pre-orders. With how good some PS4 games look today on the original system, I can't imagine what it would be like with a 4.2tf system with improved CPU.

I have a notion that perhaps some of it is diehard PS fans that don't want to see a 4.2tf PS with MS announcing at minimum a 6tf GPU for Scorpio. But to me, Scorpio is 14-15 months away, who really cares about that right now?

 

[recklesscognition]

I'm getting more and more cautious about the release date. I've gotten so caught up on these FCC filings. Not sure how important a final dev kit is, but there isn't one out there now. Are they using old hardware and tweaking the software settings to get to spec at the moment.

How long do devs need to get a final kit and turn out a game? A month? Two?

I'm curious why there isn't anything going through testing. From what I read through, they have the wireless adapter and what I assume is the PS4 slim ready to go and approved. Nothing else where. I find it hard to believe they're running 5-6k units of Neos a day in China without having approval for the final design.

 

[Jonboy]

Like many of you, I have been reading this thread a lot, especially in the last week. Mainly looking for leaks or any hard information. But one thing after reading a ton of responses that has stuck out to me are those that suggest that if the specs are what they originally mentioned that some fell it is just "meh". I don't get that. A 4.2TF System with a much faster clocked CPU is a pretty substantial jump from the original PS4 specs, I mean it is a significant increase in overall performance.

So I have to ask, why do so many think that if the system turns out to be a 4.2tf GPU and a faster GPU, why do you not think it is a siginificant improvement? I have the Nathan Drake Uncharted 4 System and I love it and had the launch unit before, but if Sony is going to put out a system that is more powerful, my ass will be at Gamestop the minute they start taking pre-orders. With how good some PS4 games look, I can't imagine what it would be like with a 4.2tf system.

I have a notion that perhaps some of it is diehard PS fans that don't want to see a 4.2tf PS with MS announcing at minimum a 6tf GPU for Scorpio. But to me, Scorpio is 14-15 months away, who really cares about that right now?

Good post and I agree. I'm pretty pumped even if it's "just" 4.2.

 

[Hawk269]

Man, I only have brief memories of the 2600. That tank game was so fun. Joined PC master race soon after.

Tank game was called Combat and came bundled with the 2600. I remember talking my dad into getting a 2600 for me and my brother because it would cheaper to buy 1 gift for both of us instead of separate gifts. I am a collector now of older systems and have an original 2600 with about 100 games and the 2600 jr. which was a smaller version. My 2600 original has a Audio/Video mod which makes games looks a lot better. My prize possession is my ColecoVision with a RGB mod, looks fantastic through my framemeister and hooked up to my 4k set.

 

[Saberus]

Like many of you, I have been reading this thread a lot, especially in the last week. Mainly looking for leaks or any hard information. But one thing after reading a ton of responses that has stuck out to me are those that suggest that if the specs are what they originally mentioned that some fell it is just "meh". I don't get that. A 4.2TF System with a much faster clocked CPU is a pretty substantial jump from the original PS4 specs, I mean it is a significant increase in overall performance.

So I have to ask, why do so many think that if the system turns out to be a 4.2tf GPU and a faster GPU, why do you not think it is a siginificant improvement? I have the Nathan Drake Uncharted 4 System and I love it and had the launch unit before, but if Sony is going to put out a system that is more powerful, my ass will be at Gamestop the minute they start taking pre-orders. With how good some PS4 games look, I can't imagine what it would be like with a 4.2tf system.

I have a notion that perhaps some of it is diehard PS fans that don't want to see a 4.2tf PS with MS announcing at minimum a 6tf GPU for Scorpio. But to me, Scorpio is 14-15 months away, who really cares about that right now?

Good post, 4.2 on a console should look amazing, they just need to show off a couple of first party games and most should be very happy, I think?

 

[wapplew]

Like many of you, I have been reading this thread a lot, especially in the last week. Mainly looking for leaks or any hard information. But one thing after reading a ton of responses that has stuck out to me are those that suggest that if the specs are what they originally mentioned in the documents that some fell it is just "meh". I don't get that. A 4.2TF System with a much faster clocked CPU is a pretty substantial jump from the original PS4 specs, I mean it is a significant increase in overall system performance.

So I have to ask, why do so many think that if the system turns out to be a 4.2tf GPU and a faster GPU, why do you not think it is a siginificant improvement? I have the Nathan Drake Uncharted 4 System and I love it and had the launch unit before, but if Sony is going to put out a system that is more powerful, my ass will be at Gamestop the minute they start taking pre-orders. With how good some PS4 games look today on the original system, I can't imagine what it would be like with a 4.2tf system with improved CPU.

I have a notion that perhaps some of it is diehard PS fans that don't want to see a 4.2tf PS with MS announcing at minimum a 6tf GPU for Scorpio. But to me, Scorpio is 14-15 months away, who really cares about that right now?

Because Neo shouldn't happen.

 

[onQ123]

You all might think my theory is crazy but this might also be how Xbox Scorpio will get to 6TF.


Xbox One S APU + 36 CU polaris GPU both clocked at 980MHz would be 6TF


or it can be the Xbox One S APU with all 14 CUs enabled + the 36 CU GPU both clocked at 950MHz that would also be 6TF

 

[Crimson_Gold]

Because Neo shouldn't happen.

Why? What's wrong with it?

 

[wapplew]

Why? What's wrong with it?

Because it supposed to release in 2013, not 2016.

 

[Hawk269]

Because Neo shouldn't happen.

Would you mind elaborating a bit on that? I am not sure which angle you are going with that, so it would be nice to discuss this topic about 4.2tf not being enough or being meh?

 

[Crimson_Gold]

Because it suppose to release in 2013, not 2016.

That wouldn't have been priced reasonably in 2014, let alone 2013. That's just crazy

 

[BroBot]

Because it supposed to release in 2013, not 2016.

Right. So Sony can repeat the 599 dollars fiasco again.

 

[BigEmil]

Because it supposed to release in 2013, not 2016.

Those hardware didn't exist in 2013 and that early PS4 wouldve costed like $700 as time goes by hardware gets cheaper

 

[wapplew]

Would you mind elaborating a bit on that? I am not sure which angle you are going with that, so it would be nice to discuss this topic about 4.2tf not being enough or being meh?

Cause I don't like mid gen upgrade.
If they give me a choice, I would rather they make 2 SKU from the beginning. 399 for 1.8TF PS4, 599 for 3.5TF PS4+ in 2013.

 

[Kyoufu]

Cause I don't like mid gen upgrade.
If they give me a choice, I would rather they make 2 SKU from the beginning. 399 for 1.8TF PS4, 599 for 3.5TF PS4+ in 2013.

That'd be nice, but then a halfway into the generation I'd be thinking of an upgrade.

 

[Elios83]

Because it supposed to release in 2013, not 2016.

Yeah at 599$ maybe and when specs for 4K HDR, HDMI 2.0 and UHD BRs weren't even finalized

What I really find significant though is that they're only on pace to have ~1M built by March&#8230;

Even if the rumor about Neo's production starting at (what was it?) 5k-10k a day was true that doesn't mean that production will stay like that forever.
For a new console production always starts slowly because you have to make sure that things are going the right way, you have to do many tests to control that you're not mass manufacturing faulty units. Then as you get past the initial phase production is ramped up to match the expected demand.
Don't take everything that you read as a fact by the way, same thing for the second Neo design with upgraded CPU or the Q1 release, that was just speculation.

 

[bitbydeath]

Cause I don't like mid gen upgrade.
If they give me a choice, I would rather they make 2 SKU from the beginning. 399 for 1.8TF PS4, 599 for 3.5TF PS4+ in 2013.

With a mid-gen upgrade you could stay on the original and when PS5 rolls around you'll have awesome mid-gen Neo BC as opposed to OG PS4 BC.

 

[Metfanant]

Because Neo shouldn't happen.

yes it should

Because it supposed to release in 2013, not 2016.

what!? Do you know what this thing would have cost in 2013??!!

Cause I don't like mid gen upgrade.
If they give me a choice, I would rather they make 2 SKU from the beginning. 399 for 1.8TF PS4, 599 for 3.5TF PS4+ in 2013.

Maybe you should give it a chance, since it's like...the first time...this has ever happened before just dismissing it...if you don't like it, that's fine...your existing PS4 isn't going anywhere, it's going to continue to work, and nobody will EVER force you to buy a Neo...

Sony learned the hard way that $599 is not the way to go...they once tried to offer a console at that price and even though it was an absolite steal (stand alone bluray players were $900+ at the time) it was still a disaster...

PERSONALLY I bought a PS3 at launch...and I would have paid the same price for a launch PS4 with better specs...bit the average consumer WILL NOT...

 

[Deleted member 471617]

I see Neo/PS4 lasting at least another four years. Seven years total before PlayStation 5 launches. Xbox One Scorpio is said to be over a year away but im thinking that it gets delayed until Fall 2018 and it launches as a brand new console with exclusive games until PlayStation 5 launches. Scorpio could be fully backwards compatible but be the first console to truly start the ninth generation.

Thinking about it more and more, I see this for the Base PS4, Slim PS4 and PS4 Neo -

All base PS4 consoles get a price cut to $250 as Sony just wants to clear them out.

Slim PS4 launches at $250 for 500GB and $300 for 1TB.
PS4 Neo launches at $400 for 500GB, $450 for 1TB and $500 for 2 TB.

Black Weekend sales would include a $50 price cut for all Base PS4 and Slim PS4 models but will exclude the PS4 Neo.

Just my prediction.

 

[wapplew]

Maybe you should give it a chance, since it's like...the first time...this has ever happened before just dismissing it...if you don't like it, that's fine...your existing PS4 isn't going anywhere, it's going to continue to work, and nobody will EVER force you to buy a Neo...

Sony learned the hard way that $599 is not the way to go...they once tried to offer a console at that price and even though it was an absolite steal (stand alone bluray players were $900+ at the time) it was still a disaster...

PERSONALLY I bought a PS3 at launch...and I would have paid the same price for a launch PS4 with better specs...bit the average consumer WILL NOT...

I will buy it, sure, cause I'm a fan and I like my first party games in best form.
Just don't like the precedent it set and the path of console heading.

 

[Crimson_Gold]

I will buy it, sure, cause I'm a fan and I like my first party games in best form.
Just don't like the precedent it set and the path of console heading.

Advancements in technology have led to this type of thing happening all across CE. To expect consoles to be any different is asking a bit much

 

[iboshow]

Sony hasn't undercut MS all gen, not sure why they would start now.

The XB1 has been cheaper then the PS4 by $50 for so long now.

PS4 was 399 not 499

 

[Simo]

It is kinda odd how silent Sony is on this whole thing. I feel like they are either A) Trying to keep things low key so as to keep expectations in check or B) Drop the nukes

Spain is hyped though.

South Africa too. Maybe.

 

[The God]

How does it make sense ?
Your PS4 is not going to all of sudden stop working .
You still have all of advantages \ disadvantages that comes with consoles gaming .
Use it to play for next 5 to 7 years like you always would .

It makes sense because now you're forced to join an iterative ecosystem. It makes sense to get a PC because at least there you'll have control over your hardware and software upgrades. On the other hand with Neo and Scorpio, your games might not be upgraded at all, and if they are they may not be the upgrades you want.

 

[Mikey Jr.]

Heres a fun fact:

Playstation Spain, South Africa, Madagascar, Congo, don't know jack shit.

They'll probably find out about Neo a few hours before the conference.

The only people that actually know anything are USA, UK, and Japan.

 

[iboshow]

Heres a fun fact:

Playstation Spain, South Africa, Madagascar, Congo, don't know jack shit.

They'll probably find out about Neo a few hours before the conference.

The only people that actually know anything are USA, UK, and Japan.

 

[Simo]

Heres a fun fact:

Playstation Spain, South Africa, Madagascar, Congo, don't know jack shit.

They'll probably find out about Neo a few hours before the conference.

The only people that actually know anything are USA, UK, and Japan.

I prefer to get all my Sony news from the Playstation Congo social network accounts so your "facts" are wrong.

 

[Raiden1018]

South Africa too. Maybe.

Dont do this...

DONT DO THIS!!!

 

[Outrun]

No way in hell RDR becomes an exclusive.

 

[Simo]

No way in hell RDR becomes an exclusive.

Of course not. Wouldn't stop Sony spinning it in a way that you'd be playing it on Neo first rather than than the competitor (Scorpio) but that's a lot of ifs, like when Neo is released and if RDR3 is announced and when the hell it's released. lol

 

[erlim]

I hope this new call of Juarez game is set in the future in space.

 

[duhmetree]

No way in hell RDR becomes an exclusive.

PS4 and PC? PC being the best xbox experience

 

[Dargor]

I will buy it, sure, cause I'm a fan and I like my first party games in best form.
Just don't like the precedent it set and the path of console heading.

This doesn't make any sense.

Do you know that by buying it you're sending the message thats its ok to have mid gen upgrades, right?

 

[Nightengale]

Another fun fact:

Whoever's manning the PS UK, US and JP social platforms... also don't know shit.

Death Stranding is known to like 5 people inside Sony. None of the people "in-the-know" will be casually logging into their public-facing social media platform and decide to be juicy about details.

If anyone wants to be cheeky, it'll be via their own personal twitter, accidentally hinting more than they are maybe allowed to.

Eg, Jun Yoshino hinted he'll be going to NYC soon. He's the producer for Hotshots Golf, Bloodborne and TLG. Chances are we'll see something about Neo from Japan Studio-produced titles, maybe TLG or... Bloodborne?

 

[boredandlazy]

Of course not. Wouldn't stop Sony spinning it in a way that you'd be playing it on Neo first rather than than the competitor (Scorpio) but that's a lot of ifs, like when Neo is released and if RDR3 is announced and when the hell it's released. lol

Play RDR 3 on Neo first!

Spoiler

Because it loads quicker

 

[gundamkyoukai]

It makes sense because now you're forced to join an iterative ecosystem. It makes sense to get a PC because at least there you'll have control over your hardware and software upgrades. On the other hand with Neo and Scorpio, your games might not be upgraded at all, and if they are they may not be the upgrades you want.

You are not force to do anything .
The only thing that change is now people have a choice to go above you before the gen end.
Which has happen before on console but never catch on .
Your console will still do everything it was going to do without Neo .
I can understand liking the PC eco system but a upgrade does not change anything .

It's not like when PS5 come out your software was going to get upgrade all of a sudden .
You have no less or more control over your software compare to before on consoles .

 

[Jarod McChicken]

Amazon.com almost out of stock for the Black Ops III bundle ?

Between this and the shortage in the whole Japan, I really can't see the slim model being in sale later than September 7th, just after the event.

 

[The God]

You are not force to do anything .
The only thing that change is now people have a choice to go above you before the gen end.
Which has happen before on console but never catch on .
Your console will still do everything it was going to do without Neo .
I can understand liking the PC eco system but a upgrade does not change anything .

It's not like when PS5 come out your software was going to get upgrade all of a sudden .
You have no less or more control over your software compare to before on consoles .

?
This is a big change for consoles. We're about to be in a place where console gamers will have to consider upgrades. If someone prefers a PC to that, where you'll have more control over hardware and software upgrades, then how does it not make sense?

 

[adamsapple]

Amazon.com almost out of stock for the Black Ops III bundle ?

Between this and the shortage in the whole Japan, I really can't see the slim model being in sale later than September 7th, just after the event.

So do you think they're gonna pull the "and it's in stores right now" ?

 

[BRocknRolla]

So do you think they're gonna pull the "and it's in stores right now" ?

Given that a bunch are already in the wild, absolutely that's what they're going to do. (Or within a couple days.)

 

[Liabe Brave]

What I really find significant though is that they're only on pace to have ~1M built by March…

Production always starts slow before ramping. I believe I recall reading that only 50,000 PS4s were assembled in the first month (August 2013), but by the end of the year they'd made five million or so. Plus, the number we have is from only one assembly site. Sony used multiple lines in China and a plant in Japan for the original PS4.

Not sure how important a final dev kit is, but there isn't one out there now. Are they using old hardware and tweaking the software settings to get to spec at the moment.

How long do devs need to get a final kit and turn out a game? A month? Two?

I think the leaked docs said the final devkit is just production chassis. The internals were already finalized in earlier kits.

 

[farisr]

So do you think they're gonna pull the "and it's in stores right now" ?

Yup, it's either going to be "available today" or "this week" at the latest for the slim.

I'm honestly expecting the Neo to be out on or before October 13th as well.