Two new PlayStation 4 consoles were expected at today's PlayStation event, and that's exactly what we got. Andrew House, president and global CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, kicked off the event by announcing a slimmer version that will be available in a week's time on September 15 for $299 (approx. Rs. 19,870).
The mid-cycle upgrade, now officially known as PS4 Pro, will cost $399 (approx. Rs. 26,500) and will hit stores on November 10. It will come with 1TB HDD, with all other specifications as leaked earlier. PS4 Pro allows developers to push the fidelity while maintaining performance, House said. The reason Sony decided to introduce a newer version earlier than usual in the cycle is because they have already maxed out what's possible with 1080p.
While Sony didn't get into exact specifications, which had already been leaked, it did confirm that PS4 Pro would have double the GPU power of original PS4, and boost clock rate to provide "unprecedented level of detail". And despite what it may seem like, Sony maintained that the "PS4 Pro is not intended to blur the lines between console generations".
(Also see: PS4 Pro Release Date and Price Announced)
Games that will support PS4 Pro, shown at the event, include Battlefield 1, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Days Gone, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, FIFA 17, For Honor, Horizon Zero Dawn, Mass Effect Andromeda, Rise of the Tomb Raider, the untitled Spider-Man, and Watch Dogs 2. All these games were shown via 4K gameplay videos during the event, except Battlefield 1 and FIFA 17.
Sony admitted that not everyone would wish to upgrade to PS4 Pro, and hence it's bringing HDR capability to the existing market of 40 million PS4 owners, to be available via a firmware update next week. And should you decide to upgrade and fork down money on the PS4 Pro, part of your existing game library will work the new console in what Sony termed "forward compatability".
Sony also talked about 4K and HDR content with PS4 Pro, going so far to say that "at launch, PS4 Pro will become the number one provider of HDR content". This includes new apps for both Netflix and YouTube. Netflix will offer 600 hours of footage by the end of this year, Sony said, with the recently released second season of Narcos and upcoming first season of Marvel's Luke Cage part of that.
For our full coverage, head to our hub for the PlayStation event.
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