Could This Be The Reason PlayStation NEO Event Is Happening Now Instead Of E3?


Rumors of the PlayStation NEO have been swirling since the announcement of PlayStation VR. It was the worst kept secret in gaming that Sony planned to upgrade the current PlayStation 4 despite only being about a third of the way into its life cycle. So, what is the real reason the PlayStation NEO event is happening now instead of E3?

[Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]

The internet is abuzz with Sony’s announcement that it plans to have a special announcement dedicated to the PlayStation NEO on September 7. According to a Time Magazine article, the event will take place in New York, and at the moment, it is only said to involve “details about the PlayStation business.”

The console wars continue hot and heavy. While everyone has been wondering about what Sony might have up its sleeves when it comes to hardware specifications, their main competitor, Microsoft, elected to be first to the show at the expo. At the June conference, Scorpio was announced from Microsoft as being the “most powerful console ever.”

They went on to discuss some of the specs that consumers can expect from Scorpio. It is said to run at six teraflops. Polygon did a nice breakdown of what a teraflop actually is. For those looking to broaden their horizon, feel free to check it out. The short version, however, is that it has to do with graphics, and it’s really good.

[Photo by Casey Rodgers/Invision for Microsoft/AP Images]

Recently, the podcasters from IGN’s Game Scoop suggested that this outing of the Scorpio at E3 may be the reason we had to wait until afterwards for news on NEO. After the crew makes it through an awkward conversation of which movie was worse, Volcano or Dante’s Peak, they suggested that Sony might have been waiting around to see what Microsoft had planned for Scorpio.

“Does that mean they (Sony)…they have had three months. I imagine they had contingency plans. The NEO is A, B, or C depending on what Microsoft shows.

“Now, three months later, they’ve either been able to choose which one, or they were like we can’t out spend them on this so let’s announce it and get that spin we are so good at.”

Now, before one suggests that it would be crazy to add something at the last minute to hardware that has been discussed for months, they were quick to point out that this has happened in the past.

They go on to mention that Sony has been successful in the past by taking Microsoft’s plans for a system and using it to their advantage. As recently as this generation of consoles, Sony used the Xbox One’s always-online idea against them. Sony also capitalized on the fact that Microsoft had planned early not to allow players to lend games.

While there is the outside possibility Sony could have used the Scorpio E3 reveal for a reason to boost their system’s power, it seems like a tough play this close to the release. While a more powerful system is impressive to some, games are what really matters. At the moment, Sony is winning on this front.

Absent from the conversation was anything Nintendo might be doing. However, many point to September as the month they will give the world an idea of what to expect from the Nintendo NX (codename at this point). Could the Sony announcement have any effect on Nintendo?

It could be disconcerting to most that we are seeing life cycles of systems shrink dramatically. Now, less than a month away, consumers will not have to wait long to see if Scorpio is the reason the Playstation NEO event is taking place now. Furthermore, they will get a better understanding of how long they can expect their systems to last.

[Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]

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