Sony is all set to unveil its new PlayStation 4 hardware, dubbed the PlayStation Neo, at an event in New York City on September 7, according to several reports. Sony had confirmed the product’s development, which has been a point of large amounts of speculation, earlier this year in June. Kotaku was the first to have reported on the developments back in March, which was confirmed later on by Eurogamer and The Wall Street Journal. But while many expected an announcement from the tech giant at this year’s E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), Sony decided to hold out just a little longer.
Officials at Sony have said that while the new device will be equipped with 4K resolutions and improved processing power, it will not be a direct replacement of the PlayStation 4. As Andrew House of Sony said in an interview, “It is intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4. We will be selling both (the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation Neo), through the life cycle.” This has invited some to dub the product as a “half-generational” upgrade on behalf of Sony and name it as the PlayStation 4.5, or the PlayStation 4K.
The report of PlayStation Neo’s unveiling event came from the French site Gameblog, which was later confirmed by Vice Gaming. While many are wondering if the actual device will be unveiled at the said event, Vice Gaming reported that the event will merely be a “technical showcase” where we will see only the gameplay. This will be in line with the PlayStation 4’s announcement back in 2013, where Sony had only offered a glimpse into the gameplay, and the hardware was revealed much later.
The PlayStation Neo will be targeted towards those who wish to play 4K content on a higher resolution. Andrew House had earlier addressed the price factor of the new console by saying that it will be a little more expensive than the PlayStation Neo.
According to some reports, Sony is perhaps in a hurry to unveil the PlayStation Neo (whether it be gameplay or hardware), because of Microsoft’s upcoming Project Scorpio, which was confirmed by the company at E3 this year. While very little information has been divulged about Project Scorpio as of now, it would be in Sony’s best interests if news about the PlayStation Neo reached the public before Microsoft releases more information about its rival project.