After months of rumors, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Andrew House confirms the existence of an upgraded version of the PlayStation 4, however, it won’t be shown at E3 2016.
Ever since rumors surfaced a few months ago about Sony developing a more powerful PlayStation 4, the gaming world has been thrown into a speculative frenzy over what features this new console would entail, such as 4K support, and an upgraded CPU and GPU. All those rumors can now be put to rest, as Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Andrew House has confirmed that Sony is indeed developing a more powerful PS4 console.
Speaking to the Financial Times, House confirmed the rumors and stated that Sony’s upgraded PS4 will indeed feature 4K support and upgraded graphics. However, House did reaffirm that this upgraded PS4 won’t be a replacement for the standard version of the console and that both versions will be sold alongside each other.
“It is intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4. We will be selling both [versions] through the life cycle.”
A release date and starting price point for the upgraded PS4 was not revealed, though House did state that it will cost more than the standard PS4. Though House didn’t mention what specific hardware this new PS4 will be equipped with, it is expected that the new console will feature upgraded chip products from AMD, which makes the increased price point understandable. Interestingly, House also didn’t mention anything about the current PS4 remaining at its current $350 price, which could leave this price point open for the upgraded console.
There has been talking about whether early adopters of the PS4 will eventually find themselves unable to play future games, however, House reassured that this won’t be an issue as “all games will support the standard PS4 and [Sony] anticipate all or a very large majority of games will also support the high-end PS4.”
And finally, while consumers may not have any issues with the new PS4, it could be a different story for developers. A big concern that was brought up weeks ago was that the new console could cause issues for developers and that development teams will face greater challenges during game production. However, House claims that this issue will only require a “small but manageable” amount of work in order to get a game working on both the new and old PS4 consoles.
The release date for Sony‘s upgraded PlayStation 4 has not yet been revealed at the time of writing, but we’ll keep you posted on any news and announcements related to the console.
