PS4 Neo Reveal Coming September 7, Sony Schedules PlayStation Meeting
The PlayStation 4 Neo reveal was finally given a debut date on Tuesday. Sony sent invitations to members of the press revealing a PlayStation Meeting scheduled for September 7.
The invitation shared via Twitter by Colin Moriarty of Kinda Funny shows the PlayStation Meeting will take place September 7 at 3 p.m. ET at the PlayStation Theater in New York City. There is no official announcement yet on if this event will be livestreamed for everyone not fortunate enough to receive an invitation.
.@GameOverGreggy and I just got out invites to the September 7th "PlayStation Meeting" in NYC. It's happening!!! pic.twitter.com/yWkIUwC36I
— Colin Moriarty (@longislandviper) August 9, 2016
The invitation also included a note stating Sony will “share details about the PlayStation business.” Both Vice Gaming and French gaming site Gameblog state this event will be used to debut the PS4 Neo.
Sony confirmed the existence of the PS4 Neo prior to the E3 convention in Los Angeles but elected to hold revealing the new console until a later date. This also means the Neo will be skipping Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, which kicks off on August 18. The PlayStation Meeting takes place just prior to the Tokyo Game Show on September 15, so it may make an appearance there.
The PlayStation 4 Neo is an updated version of the console said to feature a faster CPU, faster memory, and a more powerful GPU. The benefit to most gamers will be the ability to achieve 1080p and 60 frames per second (fps) on a more consistent basis. It is currently unclear if it will be powerful enough to handle 4K gaming, though there are rumors it might.
The other aspect of the PS4 Neo is the added power needed to run virtual reality games for the upcoming PlayStation VR add-on headset. A good virtual reality experience needs a consistent frame rate at 60 fps or 90 fps to prevent a nauseous experience for the user. The higher the frame rate, the better.
Price will be an important factor for the PS4 Neo. Sony Interactive Entertainment President and Global Chief Executive Andrew House called the upgraded console a “high-end” version of the PlayStation 4 and will cost more than the current $350 version of the console.
“It is intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4,” House said. “We will be selling both [versions] through the life cycle.”
“All games will support the standard PS4 and we anticipate all or a very large majority of games will also support the high-end PS4,” he added.
The release date of the PS4 Neo will play a huge role as well. The PlayStation VR headset is scheduled for an October release and the upgraded console is assumed to launch around the same time. Sony’s scheduling of the PlayStation Meeting for September independent of any game conferences suggests this to be the case and gives the company a solid entry for the holiday season sales battle.
Microsoft recently released the Xbox One S as a slightly upgraded version of the original console. Aside from being much smaller, it grants a small performance boost in some games and adds support for HDR lighting, the ability to upscale games to 4K, and the ability to play videos via Blu-ray or streaming in native 4K.
An all new Xbox console is also planned for release later in 2017. Code-named Scorpio, it is rumored to have a performance target of six teraflops, a huge jump from the current console’s 1.3 teraflops.
Are you ready for the PlayStation 4 Neo announcement? What do you hope to see? Sound off in the comments below.
[Image via Sony/Warner Bros Pictures]
