Rumour about playstation 4.5

[t0mby]

I wonder how long till we see the first Neo Exclusive game. I was originally going to hazard a guess at GT7 but I think that will be financial seppuku.

[Madmya]

If they make a huge franchise like GT7 exclusive to the upgrade, they'll be committing gaming seppuku too.

[lestat]

Shu recently said they may not be a PS5, so clearly Sony want to head down the ipad/iphone path of incremental upgrades over time. With moving to commodity x86 hardware, that model isn't really that hard to do and doesn't require the massive r&d spend previous generational jumps required.

In other news MS ends 360 production. I guess it doesn't make financial sense to manufacture 3 different models.

[lestat]

It begins.

http://wccftech.com/horizon-dawn-allege ... ompatible/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Well…Horizon: Zero Dawn's getting delayed to early 2017 from what I'm told.

Going to look splendid on PS4k though.

— shinobi602 (@shinobi602) April 20, 2016

[Yoshi Sonic]

Most y'all don't get it and are getting your knickers in a twist over naught - the bumped up specs are for the VR headset.

[BOOMY]

Not that I've been paying much attention to this so disregard if necessary, but hasn't the complaint until now been about the 720/30fps situation?
So basically we just carry on as we have been and the upgraded console can do 1080 60fps for those that need it.

[t0mby]

Yoshi and Boomy are on the money.

[unfnknblvbl]

...except they're not.

If a PS4 game supports VR for the 4K model, it has to support it for the PSpoor model as well... so there goes that argument. Then, the PS4K doesn't automagically fix poor resolution/framerate for existing games either, so that argument is wrong, too.

It's like Sony saw MS's 360 tard pack from last gen and thought "we can one-up that shit".

[lestat]

unfnk points illustrate why it's clearly not like a PC upgrade and heavily dependent on support/developers.

This is not the first time we've seen mid cycle hardware console upgrades, we had the 32x/superfx chip/pc engine superGFX/n64 memory upgrade etc. Support by games was spotty, this time will be different since developers already cater for multiple hardware specs but we'll have to see how developers embrace this, games will still need to held back by the base PS4 sku.

This is a problem PC gamers have had to deal with, with titles like the witcher3 which had to be scaled back from reveal because the base consoles just couldn't handle it. There are limits to how much you can scale content in an engine.

[lestat]

More confirmation 3 new consoles are coming direct from AMD.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/04/a ... -for-xbox/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

During AMD's Q1 2016 earnings call on Thursday, executives from AMD estimated a 15 percent revenue increase in Q2 2016, plus or minus 3 points, and they cited three semi-custom system-on-chip (SOC) "wins" as the "larger driver" for that revenue. AMD estimates that these SOCs will bring in $1.5 billion in revenue "over the next three or four years." At least one of those three SOC deliveries will begin "ramping" in the second half of this year, with all of those SOCs launching by 2017.

The reason that news is interesting is because AMD's SOC products have mostly been the core components in small-form-factor games consoles in recent years, and major news leaks have connected one of those upcoming AMD SOCs to the "Neo" refresh of the PlayStation 4, which could launch as soon as October of this year.

AMD's CEO Lisa Su made it clear during the earnings call that these semi-custom wins were related to the gaming sector, describing "semi-custom business and gaming" as the "larger driver" of Q2's revenue growth. "If you think about the semi-custom business in the past few years, the third quarter is always the peak," Su told reporters. "It will be the peak this year, as well, but we're starting some of the ramping in the second quarter as we build to the stronger third quarter."

But who is purchasing those other two gaming-related SOCs? AMD remained coy when asked directly: "I don't believe we've gone through any detail about what those wins are," Su said in the call. "I'd prefer to let that come out as our customers are ready to launch."

[Rorschach]

Go AMD! I'm team green but a healthy AMD is great for competition. Seriously considering getting an AMD card for my second budget build

[GameHED]

For all those getting angry that this neo thing segregates the market that is simply not true.

The games that look like shit now will just look a bit less shit and run a bit smoother.

Just as it has always been when a change in the hardware happens on the handheld machines.

GBA came out for instance with no backlight. It was so dark you couldn't see the bats in castlevania.
Then they fixed that by giving you lights.
DS came out. Then DSi.
3DS with only 1 analogue nub. Then 3DS XL. Then New 3DS. Then 2DS for the rough kids who keep breaking shit.

Now what I think sony is doing is applying this same idea to home console:
Start with a base, then add a gimmick a couple of years into the platform to get people interested in upgrading to the better model by trading in their old ones, and over time try to phase out the old tech which although can play new games, won't get as good performance as the new one. (but still have playable framerates to allow a player to be able to still win the game after play-testers have balance-tested and played the game on the lowest spec machine to prove that it's not an unplayable mess as part of quality control for those with old models)

When MS did this, you guys never seemed all that angry about it. You had the tard pack, the pro pack, the elite model etc Each new model got skinny wires and more power efficient and ran cooler. So upgrades saved money on electricity.

Nintendo did it with the White model Wii U and Black model Wii U. White model had only 8gb compared (nintendo's version of tard pack) to the 32 gb model but the white model made sense for budget-conscious crowd who want to pay for things in installments not in one lump sum. (perhaps intending to get HDD instead to compensate for lack of internal memory storage)

Same thing here, only I think it's just preparation for VR. Most of you guys had N64 and bought games that didn't use the memory upgrade thing that was sold seperately, but the memory upgrade thing let you play Majora's mask and stuff that could be considered the equivalent of GTA5 for its time. (ie in terms of it being big game)

The way I look at gaming is that some of you guys seem ok to double dip on games like GTA5 by buying the same thing twice (eg the last gen version and then the current gen version) while others want better specs for smoother gameplay.
If you want games to be about developers working within limits why did you buy the current gen version of GTA5 instead of just been satisfied with the last gen version with choppy framerates?

You lose your right to complain about the hardware upgrade because the money you spent buying the game twice, is about the ame thing as the money you would spend to get more performance when new hardware is made. (eg the massive boost in framerate in hyrule warriors in New 3DS vs old 3DS)

You could argue that buying gta5 twice was not a waste of money because it's a good game. But others could make the argument that buying the upgraded system is worth it because the shit coders can tap into the more powerful system for those who came into the current gen LATE. If you never bought a launch model PS4 you now have an option to skip a model and save $. You got to look at this from ALL perspectives not just your own.

If today you had the option of buying an old N64 without memory expansion in side it, vs buying the n64 without it, you would choose the latest version. Same deal here with the ps4. Maybe it's not aimed at you, the early adopter but instead the late adopter who is waiting for this VR goggle shit to start as that is what might tip them into buying a game console over PC upgrade since console are stable machines with tighter QC.

Did you guys get angry when capcom released a version of Resident evil 4 on Wii with superior controls? No. You bought the updated game and got widescreen added to a polished piece of software. The same thing is happening with PS4 Neo where instead of buying the same game twice, you are just this time buying hardware that is updated.
It's not segregation any more than Twilight princess GC and RE4 GC versions were segregated from Wii versions.
All it is, is the same stuff but improved. It's not considered a waste if say you never owned a gamecube to play RE4 on the original console. So although 40 million might seem like a lot of userbase to anger, the future is in these VR games that developers are going to be making and the ps4 probably isn't good enough to make decent looking titles on current specs so this upgrade might help a little bit when the fad takes off. (it is akin to the wiimote fad taking off when nintendo made games that were actually designed around it from the ground up rather than shoe-horned in at the last moment and poorly-executed)

I think nintendo should plan around this VR shit too and look at the next big gimmick. Otherwise they will be left behind. I think they need to focus on power first, then gimmicks after its "safe" and sony absorb the risk. I can imagine some great open world experiences in nintendo games for instance a pilotwing game made with VR in mind. (or perhaps a space sim using the metroid franchise to reel people in where you explore caverns from the cockpit of the ship and can get out anywhere you want like the halo games but in a true open world rather than big sectioned-off themed areas like old metroid games. The tablet should be able to be connected to add gryo controls for things like turret guns and shit as we see in star fox zero now. That lets people who are second players act as support to the VR helmet guy, where normally a CPU turret would be in its control. Drop in and out co-op modes with each player getting a seperate screen was Wii U's biggest advantage imo)

The bottom line here is people are angry and don't need to be angry. It would be like me getting pissed that all those guys who play GTA5 on ps4 are hurting me because I already bought the last gen version. It's ridiculous.
You have 2 options:

-either you buy the same fucking game twice as a "HD remaster" (nintendo seem to be doing well with Wind Waker)

or

-you update the hardware (from 3DS to N3DS) and get to download a patch to give you superior texture quality and framerates and maybe fix the resolution for all those frames that sony slipped into the title that were not full resolution. (as part of the trick to keep framerates high but lowering resolution on some frames)

The latter option makes more sense because there are less titles cluttering the market. The same game is just one game not two seperate releases of the game like GTA5. You just used your money on hardware and got the free visual upgrade through the patch because you bought a later model. That's it. No different to people who could play some games on the n64 in slightly higher screen resolution when the game detected that they had the memory expansion. They didn't have the retailers stock two different versions of the title ie one for the people who don't have memory expansion and one for those with the memory expansion. No you just bought the same game at the store and the game would just present the visuals depending on the hardware you had. This means only one version of the game but the game takes advantage of tech which is constantly changing and improving as a way to keep people interested. Worked for 3DS... Just see the difference between monster hunter 3U on 3DS and Wii U version. All the Wii U version is, is a cleaner higher res edition of the same fucking game. The 3DS MH3U players can even play online with the Wii U players of the game. It's just that the game looks ugly to them on the smaller screen in non-HD form, that's all. Gameplay is identical.

The future is this: Instead of expecting players to buy the same fucking game twice and waste money, how about you just release one fucking game, and have that game appear visually according to how much power the hardware model has? One of the advantages of this is increasing the pool of online players in a single game so that people from different platforms and models get to see each other online. They do this with Final Fantasy 14 so I don't understand why people want to get angry. A pc player and ps4 player can work together. No segregation. They both have the ability to play the same game with each other. You just got to look at the successful example like MH3U and FF14. That's what I think needs to be done to keep the online gaming side more active. Less people to see online = a more empty world and less exciting online experience. What people want is the stability of console online gaming with the advantage that pc platforms have of seeing a game look better on better hardware. Even if it is only slight upgrade.

[unfnknblvbl]

Go AMD! I'm team green but a healthy AMD is great for competition. Seriously considering getting an AMD card for my second budget build

I wish they'd get their act together on the desktop/gaming CPU front. I can't believe they've gone from having Intel over a barrel to the mess they're in now - each desktop CPU is worse than the one before it. After years of lambasting Intel for their Hyperthreading jazz, they went ahead and implemented it in hardware. It wasn't a good idea for Intel gaming, and it's definitely not a good idea for AMD. At least you can turn it off on Intel CPUs!

[Rorschach]

I'm hoping Zen does good business for AMD. Back to the PS4K, I hope that at some point they release firmware to support higher than 60Hz refresh. Surely this wouldn't be hard to implement on either the PS4 or Xbone, for people that have to option to play on high refresh monitors.

Edit - Guess it is kind of difficult

[Vince]

I know people are always talking doom and gloom with consoles, but I love that idea of having a gaming box that is (almost) solely d dictated to gaming. I'm a little old fashioned that way I guess. Don't get me wrong, PC gaming is the way to go if you're truly after the absolute best in terms of graphics, frame rates etc... But I love the little box sitting near the telly. Controller hooked up. Game goes in and bang- ready for the next game of Mario! I'm hoping that all 3 console manufacturers continue making consoles. I don't want mobiles/tablets to take over.
Gaming is one of my great passions and, like I said, PC gaming aside, affordable console gaming is where I'm most comfortable.
Here's hoping Nintendo do release something really powerful and that all devs get on board.

[Rorschach]

The only thing that worries me about Nintendo is their fixation on weird controllers. I'm fairly traditional and still prefer the gamepad to all else. I don't need a second screen to look at while I'm playing or touch or motion controls. If they can do that then I'm on board for their first party titles.

[lestat]

So rumors are surfacing that AMDs R480 series (36CUs) is quite competitive with a 980ti posting new identical scores with in 3dmark. So potentially PS4k will offer gpu performance in range of a 980~980ti. We'll see shortly but this could be a substantial upgrade on the GPU side due to efficiency gains in the polaris architecture.

[Candy Arse]

That would be a massive upgrade.

[Froggy]

Well this has put me off investing in a PS4 come uncharted 4 time, I may as well wait for the update seems a no brainer.

[t0mby]

But UC4 won't utilize the power of the Neo, game is already completed, unless they patch it in but I wouldn't count on it.

[Froggy]

Yes I get that but why would I get the current PS4 when I can wait 6 months and get a better one for the current price and just play uncharted then.

[flipswitch]

It's all rumours froggy, nothing has been confirmed.

E3 isn't too far away, release date and price should be announced.I don't blame you though in waiting. Maybe it won't even arrive this year.

Specs are going to be interesting. It would give VR a huge boost if it was at 980/Ti levels and make 4K gaming possible with a few tweaks.

[The Adza]

Having just got my PS4 this last Christmas I can tell you I am not that happy about the whole PS4K rumours. Especially if it is going to be released this year. But, having said that, I have come to terms with that I do not have a 4K TV and i wont be missing much if I can wait it out until say maybe Christmas 2017 before upgrading, by then there should be a decent amount of games that are using that extra grunt well, and whether or not PSVR is catching on and benefiting from the upgrade.

And my 2nd TV where my PS3 lives, well that would be a perfect fit for the first model PS4 while the new one takes it's place under the main TV.

I'm not excited about it, and I hope that the PS4K is just that. An upgrade that just lets the games output at 4K, and anyone that doesn't own a 4K TV won't notice the difference, and nothing more.

[GameHED]

I think whether you notice the difference is dependent on the size of the screen most of the time.

I think smoother framerates are the more important thing because in a action game you want that 60fps. If they can give us 60fps or close to it people would be happy because open world games with dozens of things going on in the environment at once can cause the stutter. Play GTA5 on last gen machines and go and fire grenades with the grenade launcher into a big crowd of people and see what happens. The days where the framerate dips should have been a thing of the past. To me if I can play a game that has less beautiful graphics but the framerate is consistent, then I will be happy.

A slow paced rpg can get away with stutter but for action games you need to be able to react in time and as games become more open world and populated with more and more things, the framerate is the first thing to go which affects your ability to play properly. The crappy coders always need more power. Otherwise they have to make the graphics very plain like Earth Defense Force or Star Fox to maintain a playable framerate. (to be fair it used two screens)

[Candy Arse]

I think whether you notice the difference is dependent on the size of the screen most of the time.

I think smoother framerates are the more important thing because in a action game you want that 60fps. If they can give us 60fps or close to it people would be happy because open world games with dozens of things going on in the environment at once can cause the stutter.

Isn't this the idiot who tried to argue that 24fps is best for gaming?