Sony has finally unveiled its much-anticipated new console, the PlayStation 4 Pro, to ‘complement’ the three-year-old PS4 and bring it up to speed by supporting 4K gaming and virtual reality (VR).
While Sony did not delve too much into its gaming aspirations at IFA 2016, the Japanese giant decided to compete with Apple for eyeballs on the web last night (7 September) with the announcement of its latest console, the PS4 Pro.
Once thought to be called the PS Neo, this new console is a turn up for the books for Sony, with it deciding to launch an updated gaming console in the middle of the PS4’s lifecycle.
The biggest reason for Sony to go ahead with a console just three years after the launch of the PS4 is the growth of 4K gaming on platforms like PC.
Now capable of supporting 4K gaming, the PS4 Pro will finally put many of those 4K TVs to good use, given that the vast majority of broadcast TV doesn’t have any intentions of showing 4K content anytime soon.
However, sonline services that do offer 4K quality content – such as Netflix and YouTube – will now be viewable through the PS4 Pro.
PS4 Pro. Image via Sony
While all PS4 games will receive a clarity boost through the PS4 Pro and a 4K TV, owners of the updated console will still be able to play games in 1080p quality with a HDTV.
With all of this high-end graphics, hard drive space will remain a major issue – as was the case with the first PS4 – but thankfully Sony has doubled the amount of hard drive space to 1TB.
The updated console is also geared heavily towards supporting all of the processing power required for the PS VR headset and now includes an additional USB port to connect the two.
In terms of when gamers can get their hands on it, Sony has said that the PS4 Pro will be released on 10 November in Japan, North America and Europe and will cost €399.
The slimmer PS4. Image via Sony
PS4 2.0
The second console unveiled by Sony at the announcement was more familiar to owners of previous PS consoles with the introduction of a slimmer version of the PS4.
With a slightly improved performance – capable of supporting high dynamic range (HDR) imaging – the slimmer PS4 reduced its weight by a quarter on the first model released three years ago.
Sony has also tried to cut down on the amount of energy it consumes, revealing its consumption will go down 34pc compared with the first model.
This newer model will release on 15 September in Japan, North America and Europe and will sell for €299.
PS VR headset at event image via Christian Bertrand/Shutterstock
