The internet has been awash with reports and rumblings of late suggesting that Sony plans on releasing an upgraded PlayStation 4, referred to as the “PlayStation 4.5” by most, to improve the performance of games running on its flagship system.
Although those rumors are still unconfirmed, news site Giant Bomb claims to have received a handful of concrete details regarding the PlayStation 4.5, or, as it’s reportedly being referred to internally, the “Neo.”
According to documents sent to Giant Bomb, the Neo will feature improved clock speeds, an enhanced GPU, and greater memory bandwidth.
The hard drive will remain unchanged, and, in order to make use of the Neo’s improved specs, all PlayStation 4 titles landing from October onwards will be required to ship with both a “base mode” and “Neo mode,” which will allow games to run on both devices.
Giant Bomb claims that games running in Neo mode will serve up improved, more stable frame rates alongside higher fidelity visuals.
Sony’s Neo will also apparently be capable of supporting 4K, although games running in Neo mode aren’t required to be 4K native
Image credit: Giant Bomb
Guidelines laid out in the documents suggest Sony is unwilling to compromise on frame rates, and is insisting that developers ensure the frame rate of any game running in Neo mode is significantly better than that of its base mode counterpart.
Anyone releasing a PS4 title in late September will also need to prepare a day one patch to bring it up to Neo standards. Older games will be able to make use of the Neo’s new hardware as well, assuming devs choose to make the necessary updates.
In the long term, it seems Sony hopes the PS4 and the Neo will co-exist, ruling out the possibility of Neo exclusive releases or content of any kind — Sony wants to boost performance, not fracture the PlayStation user base.
Curiously, the documents fail to make any mention of the company’s PlayStation VR headset, although, assuming the new system is PSVR compatible, virtual reality devs will likely be able squeeze extra juice out of the Neo’s advanced hardware.
As has been the case since these rumors started, Sony has yet to comment on Giant Bomb’s report.
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2016