Soon the console gaming industry will see it's first major attempt at a platform upgrade since the SegaCD, sure there were other hardware upgrades but they were smaller in scale.
Anyone following modern tech industry saw a mid-gen upgrade coming, I expected it first time I knew they would be using x86 architecture, it's not just for easy development, it's also for simple game scaling across different hardware, it's how PC games run across different GPUs from different designers and manufacturers and different power levels, so most who know the PC gaming scene could put 2 and 2 together.
The SegaCD infamously failed (worth for Snatcher alone :P)because it didn't catch on and split the user base, it was a separate platform attached to another platform, Neo on the other hand is the same platform as the PS4, same user base, same games, same content, you don't even have to buy a different package, if you have a PS4 game then you already have a Neo game and Vise Versa.
If you stay with the original PS4 for another year or 2 you still benefit from Neo because it will make your software future proof, you don't have to buy remasters, you already own them, just put your game in and it will run, this also befits gamers financially because full 2 way compatibility will help retain the re-sell value of games we own and even the old PS4 consoles will retain value because they can play future games.
why so soon? why not wait another year or 2?
It's different factors, mainly the hardware point now is the best bang for the buck, they can wait another year but an extra 20-30% is not enough to reach a higher noticeable quality threshold worth the extra time and cost, just look up Neo comparable PC GPU performance, 4.2TF now gives you a steady 1080p-1440p@60fps or 1800p@30fps, 1800p is very close to 2160p(4K) visually but 4K has a whoopin 3 million extra pixels that require at least 60-70% extra power to render, so at least 7TF for 4K@30fps as a standard for most games, ideally 8TF for a majority of games, that cant be put into a mainstream market budget console before 2018.
More TFLOPS alone not enough for consoles to take a true next generation step up, higher image quality running 4K@60fps will need to push big bandwidth very fast, for that tech like HBM2/GDDR6 need to become available on a standard consumer level and SSDs become cheaper. this will not realistically happen before 2019/2020, that is also the time-frame for another chip die shrink. by that time Neo should be 3-4 years old.
So keeping the generation going a full 8 years without disruption or going stale is un-realistic, competitors will make a move, Sony can't wait without being at an awkward date, 2017 would be 2 years away from 2019/2020, delay and they would be too late or too early for the big generational shift. they have to keep their foot forward, making the first move will surly upset some, but the long term execution is what will win over doubters or confirm the worst fears.
the ball is rolling, no going back now.
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I think it kinda like that. But let just wait and see. Yes, I do know that Sony said that Neo will come out later this year. But I think they said PS4 Neo will sit along with PS4. Also, there is a link : http://www.dualshockers.com...
You can still play the original PS4 with new DUELSHOCKER 4 controllers.
Excellent article
perhaps a little more meat on why the upgrade consoles would be good. The sega mention was good, but it was more of a reach into a new peripheral to play cd based games more than a beneficial upgrade with the times.
In today's times you have the push for competitive gaming of which higher frame rates are beneficial, the hope and need to actually own our games with a longer life span i.e. It is no longer backward compatible but release years for the game with slight benefits with upgraded hardware, more robust unified online services without having to do with console changes as a whole etc.. Where gamers will actually not feel rushed to get a new console so fast because the library will not only continue to thrive, but can wait out until the next version if the financial status of a consumer is not ready at that time.
One more thought as I was reading about the psvr..,
Console upgrades will also add longevity and dev support for peripherals such as Kinect, psvr, Microsofts hololens etc.. Where you will not have to buy new ones for a whole new console, they can better plan the hardware of peripherals and upgrade the consoles to unlock more of their potential of which will actually be better on the wallets of the consumers.
And, after reading another article about the engine used to build FFxv...
With console upgrades we also get life out of game engines that will allow developers to actually make games over trying to tweak engines or build new ones to get the most out of their game before a new console comes out since dev times are becoming longer and games becoming shorter...
Hopefully we get longer games that are better built due to longevity of the engines themselves. Another benefit.
They can just slide down the things they need for the current gen games and slide them up for the premium console.
These are intelligent observations, props