Sony to release its own PS4-SuperGrafx

[SGX Engine]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/sony-plans-new-playstation-for-graphics-heavy-games-1459152941

Sony Plans New PlayStation for Graphics-Heavy Games


The days of waiting six or more years between videogame-console releases are coming to an end.

Sony Corp. is planning to sell a more powerful version of its PlayStation 4 machine to handle higher-end gaming experiences, including virtual reality, people familiar with the matter said, while continuing production of its existing console that has so far sold more than 36 million units world-wide.


Existing PlayStation 4 owners would need to buy the new model to take full advantage of the enhanced graphics and power, though it is likely that the current model and the coming one would share the same software catalog, one of the people said.


The new console would be announced before the planned October release of the PlayStation VR, Sony’s new virtual-reality headset, the people said. It would be able to handle ultra-high-definition resolution graphics. The upgraded console would also provide more power for running the PlayStation VR, whose main competitors, Facebook Inc.’s Oculus Rift and HTC Corp.’s Vive, are designed to work with top-shelf computers.


News of an upgraded PlayStation console was earlier reported by Kotaku. A spokesman at Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony’s videogame division, declined to comment.


Videogame console successors typically are released every six to seven years. The PlayStation 4, for example, was released in 2013, the PlayStation 3 in 2006 and the PlayStation 2 in 2000. Machines from Microsoft Corp. and Nintendo Co. have followed similar release cycles.


Microsoft recently signaled plans to deliver console upgrades in lieu of entirely new systems years apart as it looks to more deeply integrate its Xbox One system with its Windows 10 operating system for personal computers.


“We will see more hardware innovation in the console space than we’ve ever seen,” Xbox head Phil Spencer said at a press event in San Francisco on March 1, in which remakes of several games with 4K resolution capability—quality four times greater than today’s standard of full high-definition—were announced. “You’ll actually see us come out with new hardware capability during a generation allowing the same games to run backward and forward compatible.”


Nintendo is developing a new gaming platform, code-named “NX.” It hasn’t revealed any details about it, though some analysts believe it could be available as early as October.


Nintendo declined to comment on its console release cycle.


Sony’s goal with the upgraded PlayStation 4 console is to capture gamers willing to pay for a richer gaming environment, including a high-end virtual-reality experience, the people familiar with the matter said.


Even without a beefed-up console, Sony is expected to be a leader in the VR market this year despite delaying its PlayStation VR system until October, according to Piers Harding-Rolls, an analyst at research firm IHS. Sony’s headset starts at $399, below the $599 Rift and $799 Vive.


Macquarie Securities projects Sony will sell eight million PlayStation VR headsets in the product’s first two years on the market, but Macquarie says it will take years before the hardware device itself becomes a considerable profit contributor. For now, the headsets will drive highly profitable software sales, Macquarie wrote in a research note recently.


About 1.4 million virtual- and augmented-reality headsets will be sold word-wide this year and nearly 40 million headsets by 2020, researchers at Gartner Inc. estimate. Augmented reality blends digital images with a person’s view of the real world.


Sony has been expanding its offerings recently, including the rollout of an online TV-streaming service, to attract a wider range of customers. Simultaneously offering a standard model PlayStation 4 and an upgraded version to appeal to both casual gamers and hard-core fans is part of this effort, analysts say.


Damian Thong, an analyst at Macquarie Securities, said he expects PlayStation 4 software to be usable with future-generation consoles, a switch from the past, when certain games were incompatible with different-generation consoles.


“It would clearly signal the end of the traditional console generation cycle,” said Mr. Thong, in a recent letter to clients.

I saw this movie before.

[Necromancer]

I call bullshit on it being capable of good 4K gaming, seeing as it takes a $500 R9 Fury or GTX 980 Ti to play at 4K on a desktop, and even then you'll have to settle for middling settings in the most demanding games.  I like the idea of upgrades, though, but it'd be better if they used discrete video cards like a PC, so peeps don't have to buy a whole new console to get the benefit.

PS - I also call bullshit on their "$399" VR.  It makes a nice press quote, I guess, but it's not so cheap when you add in the cost of the required camera and move controllers.

[Black Tiger]

If it ends up true that they're going to release an extra powerful PS4, it would set a precedent and pave the way for Microsoft to replace the Xbox One with hardware on par with the PS4 v2 and even the playing field.

But even if it is true, I don't expect people to line up to buy a better PS4 and I don't think VR is figured out well enough for mass market appeal.

[xelement5x]

If it ends up true that they're going to release an extra powerful PS4, it would set a precedent and pave the way for Microsoft to replace the Xbox One with hardware on par with the PS4 v2 and even the playing field.

But even if it is true, I don't expect people to line up to buy a better PS4 and I don't think VR is figured out well enough for mass market appeal.

Actually, if anything it encourages me to hold out on buying a PS4 and wait for the better version to come out.  Either the V2 will be the same price for better specs, or the original version will drop in price.  Both of which are good for me.

[Punch]

f*ck you, Sony.

Microsoft and Sony are really trying to destroy the console market aren't they.

[TDIRunner]

f*ck you, Sony.

Microsoft and Sony are really trying to destroy the console market aren't they.

It seems like it, but I really don't care what they do.  There isn't too much in the current gen that I'm interested in.  I've said for a while now that even if they stopped making video games today, I would have enough in my own personal collection to keep me busy forever. 

[Necromancer]

If they force developers to support both versions of hardware (which is easy enough to do), I don't see how it'd hurt the console market at all.

[Black Tiger]

f*ck you, Sony.

Microsoft and Sony are really trying to destroy the console market aren't they.

This more than anything has me convinced that they believe that it's the last console generation and some sort of generic cloud service or something else very un-console-like is next.

[Dicer]

This console gen is stupid...

[SGX Engine]

OMG this is literally the PC-Engine 2 / SuperGrafx.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1202462

PS4K information (~2x GPU power plus clock increase, new CPU, price, etc)

Price is currently $399.99 they were discussing a better CPU which would raise the price to $499.99 we were guaranteed the price will be no higher than $499.99 (He mentioned the CPU upgrade quite a bit almost as if they haven't really decided on a final spec could be a pricing issue.) also there is currently no plan for any type of trade in program for current PS4 users but that could change.

They stated that the GPU is twice as powerful as standard PS4 and much faster. They did not say exactly how fast but that is was running at a higher clock speed while being much smaller than the original.

[lukester]

Haven't bought a PS4 yet, so the news is kinda interesting.

What about the 40 million current owners though?

[Punch]

Haven't bought a PS4 yet, so the news is kinda interesting.

What about the 40 million current owners though?

They're f*cked, LOL!
*looks at ps4 with tears on eyes*

[TheClash603]

I played with PS VR last year at Fan Expo and it was really cool because it worked well and the experience exceeded my expectation in almost every way.

The only thing that didn't fully allow me to immerse myself were the fairly low quality graphics.  It felt like I was in a VR world, but I also felt like I didn't belong cause am higher quality than everyone around me.

Perhaps Sony should've skipped VR this gen and waited til the power was there to support the tech?  Or maybe this is a genuine solution?

I am a sucker and I'll buy one, hope it doesn't suck.

[Gentlegamer]

If they force developers to support both versions of hardware (which is easy enough to do), I don't see how it'd hurt the console market at all.

I think the idea is to beef up the hardware to support VR, as well as have games be able to run on different quality profiles, like on PC. PS4.1 would run games on "high" settings, PS4.0 on "medium" or something like that.

Basically turning consoles into closed system PCs (which they already kinda are).

Meanwhile, I'm about to buy a PS4 for Dark Souls III (and Bloodborne). Oh well.

[Groover]

This is the New Nintendo 3DS for console. I don't mind it. I think I will pick up the PSVR and if this makes it even better I can see myself picking one up.