Do you think Sony knows the NX is more powerful than PS4, so that's why they're making PS4.5?

It kind of feels like that. Some people think Sony decided on an upgraded console because of some BS statement from Phil Spencer about upgradable consoles, but come on, Sony wouldn't jump the gun for something so trivial. I feel like they know more about the secretive NX than the rest of us. A lot more.

Its probably: A) Make more money. B) destroy xbox even more than they already are and C) better VR

I think Sony reads message boards, and sees how much people care about graphics, so they're just appealing to the demographic.

Maybe. But it honestly feels more to do with PSVR.

I just can't imagine Sony being threatened by a Nintendo console, even if it does have some beast specs. Not enough to directly answer with an upgraded system anyways.

Nintendo has a long uphill battle ahead of themselves if they want to cut into Sonys market share, delivering competitive hardware would only be the first step.

Because Nintendo is sharing info with Sony

improve PSVR experience. :P

^

Sony is the alpha male, they don't get surpassed by some random company. They're the ones breaking limits and produce groundbreaking titles such as Uncharted 4.

I doubt it, but with an improved Ps4 I think they've ensured the NX won't have any hardware advantage besides carts if it uses them.

Main reason Sony's doing this, is because the console can't output 4K, but 4K tv's are already affordable. And most developers are struggling to run their games on the Ps4, whether they suck at optimizing or not performance is a real issue this early on and that's not good.

Lol, sounds about right... because we all know graphics are what make a game great. Nothing else matters.

I doubt Sony sees Nintendo as any kind of competition.

Eh, I disagree. If Sony caught wind that Nintendo is using very similar architecture, but a slightly more powerful version of the very same AMD APU that Sony is using, they quite reasonably could have decided it made sense for them to raise their hardware revision to match or stay a step ahead of Nintendo. Sony was likely already redesigning a slim PS4 anyway, so if a mid-cycle upgrade is feasible why not go for it?

People were predicting 2-3 years ago this would happen once Sony (and MS) moved to "off the shelf" parts. The ease of the upgrade could lead them to such mid-cycle hardware revisions, and it seems those predictions came through.

I agree that Nintendo has a long road, but having the most powerful console might give them some inroads with hardcore gamers. It might not have been Sony's #1 concern (to squash Nintendo), but there might be a number of reasons to bump up the specs (not the least of which is some games are struggling this gen, so bumping up the specs should help alleviate that)

@2Chalupas:

Well yeah, I can certainly see a potentially more powerful NX being one of many factors, I just don't think it would be the sole catalyst here.

Probably for VR and just because they are selling so well, why not milk it?

The whole VR angle is very true. Sony certainly wants the PSVR to run as best it can, and an upgraded PS4 only makes sense for such a dynamic peripheral. I'm just saying that I don't think that's the entire picture here. Undoubtedly word got around pretty quick amongst companies about the NX's specs; and I really don't think Microsoft was in on that conversation for certain, uh, geographical reasons (hint, hint).

Sony does not see Nintendo as a threat, especially after the Wii U blunder. Even if the NX got all the great third party support the vast majority would just stick with their current PS4's or upgrade to the PS4K. The NX is DOA.

The PS4K is coming out because Sony wants people to gravitate towards 4K movie content and they also need a more powerful box for PSVR.

I feel like Sony is doing a PS4.5 because:

a. VR might need it.

b. they are dominating this gen that they want to start taking risk and experimenting since they are in a safe lead.

c. They probably want to change how the business for console has been, they might want to change it to the way phones are with multiple upgrade version release.

d. by doing upgrades they can make gens longer

IDK to be honest, I dont see the point. 4K is pointless to me.

SONY does dumb shit all the time tho...

VR is power hungry. On PC it needs a GTX 970+ and a good CPU. The PS4 has neither of those. Not to mention those shitty Move controllers. If Sony is going to be taken seriously with VR, they need a new box asap. I honestly feel that is the only reason for this upgrade. Their fanbase has abandoned the "only 1080p" stance for "as long as it's better than Xbox," so I doubt that's a factor. May some devs have complained as well.

I feel it has to do with VR with 2 sides.

1 side was the NX

1 side was the possibility of an upgraded X1

Definitely tied to PSVR.

Sony is just surfing AMD's Polaris wave and obtaining "2.5X performance per watt" improvements. The smallest known Polaris 11 at 40 watts already beats PS4's results, hence why PS4K has 2X GPU power over PS4's GPU, and much faster statement.

Polaris 10's GPU size is about 232 mm^2 with 14 nm FinFET

Polaris 11's GPU size is about 108 mm^2 with 14 nm FinFET

PS4's GPU size is about 212 mm^2 with 28 nm Planar

You all do know that IF this Playstation 4.5 is real they will NOT be doing games in native-4k. Do you know what kind of GPU power you need to run native 4k softs? The graphics cards alone are over $1,000! So the best you're going to get out of this new system if they plan on keeping it within a reasonable price range to actually move any off store shelves or even get any on store shelves is going to be upscaling not native 4k.

Or maybe it's because they don't want mobile devices to surpass it in two years?

I have no fucking clue what you just said.

No. Sony is making a PS4k because they want to give real gamers the option to upgrade their hardware. No one cares about the NX, it's going to be a colossal flop, just like the Xjoke1.

Neither does he TBFH. He's just copying stuff that he clearly doesn't understand to look smart.

@ronvalencia Oh look at all you wats bruh.

You really don't need an engineering degree to understand that those are the sizes of those chips?

Nintendo is the biggest threat to Sony right now, if Nintendo release a more powerful system with the best First party games ever made, free online and all third party support they'll get back on top and be the console leaders in less than two years

The main reason is 4k blu-ray it's trojan horse using the ps4. Think about it 4k blu-ray players are 400 bucks and the ps4k is the same price. Anybody buying a 4k blu-ray player would by default put the ps4k at the top of the list. It also rubs salt in the wound of the other console makers by having a low priced sku and a premium sku. It also makes it the cheapest VR setup sticking it to other VR makers.

Lastly the improved performance lets them own the most powerful console crown and opens the dooor to 1080p 60fps gaming native. It also opens the door to 3 year hardware upgrades if it does numbers. Sony is already they market leader on console and they intend to grind ms and nintendo under foot. This puts MS and Nintendo on the back foot and forces them to play Sony's game not their's.

@no-scope-AK47: Good way to put it.

What's the point of buying a whole new console just for a small increase in performance that doesn't make any sense to me

It's not for everybody. If you have a 4k hdtv and/or are interested in VR. The side effect is improved graphics. Also it gives you choice if you are a new ps4 buyer. I also hope the replace the crappy wifi card in the ps4k.

@reduc_ab_: I doubt they give any remote ****s really.

I think we should wait until we have concrete proof that NX is more powerful than PS4 before making such an assumption. That said, it's almost definitely for the sake of getting those 60FPS games for PSVR.

He's saying the leaked rumor states PS4k's GPU is about 2x as powerful as PS4's GPU, but smaller and faster. Full fat Polaris 10 GPU is too large of a chip to fit the bill, but a scaled Polaris 11 GPU can easily fit the bill as even the 40W version can best PS4 gfx and 100W+ consumption.

Of course this is all highly speculative, but AMD is the provider of the APUs and they have every incentive to license new tech. Likewise, Sony would want to jump with AMD as the manufacturing node shrink is a free pass to functional VR in games like UC4 with 2x power allowing 1080p/60fps for SP at full "PS4" settings. It's probably cheaper to produce as well. 360 experienced something similar with the unified shader paradigm shift.

My thoughts, as well. Plus the iron is still hot--so they may figure they can do the upgrade and carry-over the positive consumer/gamer vibe the PS4 is enjoying.

Well, since I reeeeally want PSVR, I guess I'll have to fork over when the 4.5 comes out.

@ConanTheStoner: they thought that with the wii and got battered for it....everyone did. it was also in conditions not that dis-similar to now: i.e. (to sony and MS) "BORED....whats next" coming from some circles?

im not saying the NX will dominate or anything (what the hell is it?) but write nintendo off at your peril.

so this could be a reaction (perhaps nintendo are planning a similar idea. NX being the platform and having many NX devices that are upgraded on a more regular basis).

its not 4K game playing anyway if the rumours are true. a 2X increase in GU performance is nowhere near enough to get that working on any but the most basic games.

it could be 4K video playback and VR integration (no need for that external box with a PS4.5 maybe).

ir it could just be a 3DS to new 3DS type upgrade to address some developer issues and sell lots of new units to existing customers (remember hardware is profitable now)....but thats less likely. most of the time devs are told to put up and shut up until next gen. overall devs also seem pretty happy with the PS4. some issues on the CPU sure but hardly worth an entire hardware revision to fix (and apparently the CPU is not getting an upgrade).

@no-scope-AK47: I'll agree about the trojan horse part, but I disagree with the part about the PS4k putting MS on their back foot.

With PSVR, Sony is kinda forced into blowing their load too soon here. All MS has to do is, see what the PS4k really is, and then release something more powerful. It gives MS a chance to have the most powerful console on the market for at least 3-4 years.

It may very well be, that by this time next year, we will have the PS4k just coming out, with a more powerful xbox to come a few months later.

Sony by all estimates has a 2 to 1 advantage in sales. MS is already on the back foot IMO.

Why do you want PS VR and another PS console? A Gaming rig and VR is a lot better. You are buying a remake of a console you already own for a peripheral. That doesn't make any sense.

I'm not a PC gamer. I'm a console gamer. I also happen to think that the PSVR is a damn nice peripheral. It's actually more than a peripheral. If you tried it, you'd know.

honestly think PS4.5 has everything to do with VR than Nintendo's next system.

@emgesp: I wouldn't say that just yet. Nobody (as in us gamers, not leakers or YouTube personnel) knows what EXACTLY the NX is as of now. You can't guarantee it'll be a failure and I can't guarantee it will be successful.

End of reply.

But seriously, who wants to upgrade a console for $400 on top of the $399 PSVR and friends, when they can get the PSVR and be ok. (Sorry for the bad analogy) It's like if you go to an ice cream place, and get a scoop of ice cream. Then they ask you forcefully for an extra scoop of ice cream for $10 more, on top of $5 for sprinkles, when you could just get sprinkles with the 1 scoop.

New 3DS included too, but I got one primarily because the L button on my old 3DS broke.

Edit: I put end of reply to notify @emgesp that my reply to him was just in the first paragraph. The rest of the post were my thoughts about PS4K

Sony wants to get all the credit for bringing VR to the mass market. They know that anyone using a PS4 with it will get something that is technically functional but won't have much appeal

No, I can't know for sure if the NX is gonna flop, but given Nintendo's history it's very likely to. Nintendo has been losing market share in the console space ever since the SNES. The Wii was the only time where their install base increased, but that dropped off at an alarming rate with the Wii U's arrival. The fact is the average gamer just doesn't care about Nintendo home consoles as much as they use to. Nintendo has been losing relevancy ever since the PS1 launched.

@emgesp: So how did they start losing the market? Oh wait, Sony. Darn you Yamauchi! Like I said to you before, Nintendo will fail as a 3rd party company, the Industry is dead without Nintendo, and they will still not make good profits either way. No matter what, if they fail with the NX, they are doomed. Mobile will probably be the best way if all else fails (that includes if every option outside of mobile fails). Sony should take fold too if the PS5 hits Wii U numbers (I hope not but it could be likely), and Microsoft is barely alive right now. PC and mobile by 2024 will be the only gaming platforms left I predict.

Edit: Wait, mobile will fail too for them by 2024! Kids these days don't know about Mario and Nintendo, all they know is Social Media and Minecraft, so no matter what, they will fail!