The PlayStation Neo is the PS4 Pro. But a Bad Move for Sony?

9 September 2016

On the 7th September in New York, Sony held its own conference, dubbed the "PlayStation Meeting", to finally unveil the slimmer PS4 and much leaked PlayStation Neo. This project codename first surfaced in April this year, with all the rumours saying it was an upgraded console, a new console in the middle of a generation, a PS4.5 as it was also known. But this was of course not its official name. Instead, Sony Interactive Entertainment head Andrew House revealed the PS4 Pro.

It was a new console mid generation, but importantly "part of the existing generation" as quoted by House. Almost as if to say there will be another distinct new console generation in the future. This was welcome news to many including myself as the rumoured Neo did seem to be heavily leaning on a PC architecture. One where new components could be continually added to the same box to improve the console experience. Console gamers are lazy and enjoy spending a large amount for a system that lasts 5-8 years knowing that all games are guaranteed to run smoothly.

So what exactly is the PS4 Pro. It is a new PS4 with upgraded hardware specs, but essentially only improving the visual output. It's more than twice as powerful as the original PS4 and is able to support 4K, the big selling point. Lead System Architect Mark Cerny explained all the new technical capabilities of the PS4 Pro in terms of pixels, depth of colour and lighting. There were plenty of comparison shots where obviously the new display looked amazing. But it's only possible with a 4K TV. There was nothing else fundamentally new about the console. HDR support (High Dynamic Range) seemed to be a new feature, but we later learnt this is coming to all PS4s via a firmware update, so this is no improvement. The PS4 Pro also comes with a 1TB hard drive, double the size of the original. But for anyone that's swapped their original hard drive, this is no improvement either. In fact a downgrade for myself as I've fitted a beefy 2TB hard drive into my current PS4. Thankfully all PS4 games are compatible with all 3 systems (the original, the new, and the Pro).

Many people in gaming media were worried about the Neo before this event. They believed Sony was going to screw over its booming 40 million PS4 customer base with a new console, only 3 years into its current lifecycle, that drastically improves the gaming experience. Meaning for dedicated Sony fans or early PS4 adopters, they would have to fork out another £400 to play console games in the best way possible. However we now know this clearly isn't the case. The PS4 Pro is so heavily tied to the TV you own. If you have splashed out on a 4K screen, you can now enjoy console games in the best display format possible. If not, you should be happy to keep your PS4 for the remainder of this generation, and a new feature is on the way with HDR support.

Post event, we now have the majority of gaming media feeling disappointed and what a waste of time it was. We knew from the very early Neo leaks that 4K was a rumoured new feature. Now it seems they wanted more from the PS4 Pro as Sony staged a fully livestreamed conference for its reveal. But as I explained above, this scenario would have likely annoyed so many Sony fans, as it would almost be forcing them to upgrade to the new console after less than 3 years. Ultimately a no win situation for Sony with the media and fans.

Gaming journalists are hard to please, but I thought Sony delivered a solid, professional, albeit quiet conference (no hooligans like at E3), and revealed a new console for the top end gamer. An option for those with the cash to spend on a 4K TV. As Andrew House explained, it is "forward compatibility". Not what I was expecting after the buzz of backwards compatibility this generation.

Haha "Forward Compatability"!! That is a term I did not expect to hear 😄 #PS4Pro

— Andi Cockbill (@AndiCockbill) September 7, 2016

Sony are ready for when 4K TVs become the norm in the household. The rate of depreciation on TVs is incredible, especially the larger the size. This means there should be a much greater target audience for Sony with the PS4 Pro in a few years to come.

However, having said all this, rather backing Sony, there is a big omission from the PS4 Pro and serious competition from their rival Microsoft. Somehow the PS4 Pro is missing a 4K Blu-Ray player - very odd considering Sony backed Blu-Rays way back in 2006 with the launch of the PS3. Secondly, Microsoft has this similar slimmed down console, launched only last month, called the Xbox One S. This did not need its own conference to unveil, supports 4K display and HDR, and has a 4K Blu-Ray player built in! Hmm... Sony may seriously regret that decision. I believed this was an attempt to undercut Microsoft on the selling price. But it's completely the opposite! The 1TB Xbox One S (bundled with FIFA 17) is priced at £300, while the PS4 Pro (standalone) will launch at £350. I have no idea how Microsoft can sell the Xbox One S so cheaply when a 4K Blu-Ray player costs over £400 alone!

Then there is the other huge threat from Microsoft to the PS4 Pro and Sony. Project Scorpio. Microsoft's new mid generation console officially confirmed at E3 but yet to be revealed, which stands to be the most powerful console in history. This could be the killer product that Microsoft needs to completely flank Sony and score big in sales. This table shows how people were expecting the current console generation to line up.

But after the new PS4 and PS4 Pro reveal, the rows have shifted in Microsoft's favour.

The Xbox One S is more than a match for the PS4 Pro. It may lose in the power battle but makes up for it in its price, size and features. Project Scorpio at this point appears to have no direct competition in the console market when it launches next year.

Sony has been storming ahead so far with the PS4 over the Xbox One, but could this be the turning of the tide?