Gasp! Act surprised! Sony today officially revealed both the smaller, cheaper PlayStation 4 “slim” and the super-powered 4K HDR-enabled PlayStation 4 Pro (once known as the PS4 Neo or PS4K).
The smaller, lighter “slim” PS4 will officially launch on September 15th for $299.99.
As for the PS4 Pro, it’ll feature 4K output, plus HDR for compatible 4K HDTVs, a much bigger HDD, more capable CPU and an upgraded GPU which will provide for better effects and framerates for even older PS4 titles (once they are patched, we’ll assume). Activision for example has revealed that they’ll be updating Call of Duty: Black Ops III multiplayer to be PS4 Pro compatible and Infinite Warfare will feature support on day 1.
The PlayStation 4 Pro will launch on November 10th and will start at $399.99 with a 1TB HDD.
Sony also revealed that each and every PS4 available (including launch units) will be able to support HDR, via a system software update, that will allow gamers with a proper HDTV equipment and cables to benefit from the technology.
Make sure to check out Anthony’s first-hand impressions of the event below, along with some shots from the meeting.
Today in NYC, Sony held a media event to unveil the PlayStation Slim (officially) as well as the PlayStation Pro (aka Neo).
Andrew House welcomed us to the event and went right into discussing how the PlayStation is the console leader and then officially announced the PlayStation Slim, which launches on Sept 15 for $299. The new Slim unit will become the standard unit and the current PS4 model will be phased out. After that introduction was out of the way, Andrew House went on to talk about the PS Pro and how TVs are now able to push image quality far greater than what was around just 3 years ago when PS4 came out. During his presentation he welcomed Mark Cerny, lead architect of the PS4, who discussed how the PS Pro would work with HDTVs, HDR imaging, 4K resolution and even the PS VR. He went on to show several video clips of games currently in production and how they’ll benefit from PS Pro. One of the games shown, Spider-Man from Insomniac looked absolutely gorgeous running on the pro with 4K and HDR.
After Cerny finished his segment, EA came out to discuss how games will be patched to take advantage of 4K TVs and then showed off the new Mass Effect game running on the Pro. When EA left the stage, Activision came up and showed the new COD game running on PS4 Pro to illustrate just how powerful the new hardware is and what devs can do with it.
Andrew House returned to the stage to discuss how all current PS4 systems on the market will support HDR, with an upcoming firmware patch.
As the meeting was winding down, House finally unveiled the PS Pro hardware, price and release date. The system will launch on Nov 10 for $399, which puts it at the same price point as the newly released XB1s.
Stay tuned to Gaming Age for news and updates pertaining to the PS Slim and PS Pro.
