Traditionally, gaming consoles last for around five years, during which a machine’s hardware specs are more-or-less locked down. That means most consoles are running on pretty dusty tech by the end of their life cycle, but on the flip side, you avoid all the confusion and cost of PC gaming, where a high-end gaming rig is outdated six months after you buy it.
Well, it seems like the home console game may be changing. According to Kotaku, they’ve heard from numerous sources at this year’s Game Developers Conference that Sony is planning to release a souped-up “PlayStation 4.5” sometime soon. According to the rumors, this new PS4 will have an upgraded graphics processing unit that will allow games to run in 4K resolution, and enable better visuals for PlayStation VR games.
There are still a lot of questions surrounding this rumored update – is the extra power going to be strictly earmarked for making the PS4 more compatible with new 4K TVs and virtual reality? Or will developers be able to use the power to push their games in other ways? Will some games be PS4.5 exclusive? Will the PS4.5 be an entirely new system, or will be it be an add-on you can use to enhance the existing PS4?
The latter seems the most likely to me. I don’t think Sony wants to split their audience, so I doubt you’ll see many non-VR PS4.5 exclusives. If I had to guess, I’d say it will be an add-on, marketed to high-end users who want to improve their PlayStation VR experience or use their PS4 with their fancy 4K TV. But who knows?
Sony has declined to comment on the PS4.5 “rumors and speculation.”
What do you think? Would you be interested in a PlayStation 4.5, or do you think complicating things with a hardware upgrade is getting into Sega 32X territory?
(via Kotaku)