The days of expansion slots and RAM upgrades for consoles are long gone, but quite a number of sources have told Kotaku that Sony are preparing an updated and significantly more powerful version of the PlayStation 4.
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The PlayStation 4 can output 4K video, but doesn’t have the processing power to handle interactive 4K games.
Sony is working on a PlayStation 4 with the ability to run games at 4K resolution. This is a good idea for those that own 4K televisions as the maximum resolution for PS4 games is 1080p at the moment. Also, with a higher-end GPU, the PS4 would be able to match the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive virtual reality headsets, both of which require powerful PCs. It totally makes sense for Sony to steamroll the competition on just on price but also on performance. Sony is, apparently, in talks with developers about what this new console will bring in terms of horsepower.
With over 40 million PS4 devices already in the market, the PlayStation VR comes with an added edge over its competitors. One aspect of concern is the possibility that future games could be released only with PS4.5 support (though that’s merely worrisome speculation at this point).
When Sony first announced the pricing for the PSVR, most people – including yours truly – were admittedly excited about its relatively low $400 price.
Right now, we don’t have the answer to those questions.
Although Kotaku has apparently confirmed the news with four separate sources, there’s not much to go on here.
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Spencer later walked back those comments while speaking on the Major Nelson podcast, pouring some water on the idea of a customizable, PC-like Xbox. Do you create two versions for one client base? The reason for the price hike is that the bundle that Sony previously announced didn’t include the motion-tracking PlayStation Camera-Sony’s answer to the Microsoft Kinect-that the VR system actually needs to work.
