Apple wasn’t the only one with big news yesterday: Sony has announced the PS4 Pro and the lighter PS4.
The Sony PlayStation continues to evolve, although Sony isn’t quite ready to abandon the advanced, popular PS4 that was first unveiled in 2013.
On Wednesday, Sony announced two new versions of the popular gaming console, including PS4 Pro — a 4K-supporting extension of the existing model that launches November 10.
Via the PlayStation blog:
“With PlayStation 4 Pro our goal is to deliver innovation in the form of cutting-edge visuals and graphics while in the midst of the PS4’s lifecycle. PS4 Pro, which launches November 10, 2016, for a suggested retail price of $399.99 USD ($499.99 CAD), enhances PS4 games by supporting the latest in imaging technology through 4K resolution and High Dynamic Range (HDR), as well as smoother frame rates. Games that already look extraordinary on PS4 will look richer and more detailed, thanks to the more powerful GPU and faster CPU at the heart of PS4 Pro.
With more pixels, 4K’s higher resolution delivers graphics that are sharper and have greater detail than ever imagined. HDR enables visuals to look much closer to the way your eyes see the real world.”
In effect, it sounds like the PS4 Pro offers benefits comparable to the Blu-ray vs DVD, or even to the HDMI cable, which was a major visual upgrade from the older SCART port.
On one hand, it seems like a moneygrab to release the same console with better graphics (and charge 400 dollars for it!), but at least we’ll be able to play all the same games. And in future, developers will have even more visual scope to play with to offer the best gaming experience.
Some developers will even release patches to enhance existing games, including Naugty Dog, which will release an Uncharted 4 patch at launch. Other Pro-enhanced games will include Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Mass Effect: Andromeda and Days Gone.
Further, both Netflix and YouTube are working on new PS4 apps to offer 4K playback on the Pro.
If you aren’t yet ready to take the leap to Pro, you may be interested in the other new PS4 model, which is being touted as the ‘new standard.’
This one is simply a slimmer and lighter version of the existing PS4. It hits stores on September 15 and will retail for $299.99 USD.
The volume has been reduced by 30%, the weight by 16%, and (perhaps most significantly), the power consumption has been reduced by 28%. That alone would be enough reason for any FIFA addict to consider upgrading.