New PlayStation hardware was revealed by Sony at last night’s PlayStation Meeting 2016, and will be available later this year. The suggested retail prices have been confirmed at £259 for the PlayStation 4 Slim model and £349 for the PlayStation 4 Pro model. Whilst the Slim model isn’t that far removed from the PS4 you may currently own, it will be quieter, lighter and more efficient. This, along with the new look and attractive price point, makes it a tempting prospect for anyone who hasn’t made a decision about gaming in the current generation.
New PlayStation hardware – 4K and HDR for Pro owners 
With the PlayStation 4 Pro, Sony is offering a model with an improved CPU and GPU, one that will allow you to play in 4K and offer HDR visuals. The impact of the latter point was diminished somewhat with news that the original PS4 would become HDR-capable with a downloadable update, but it will be interesting to see how the new processing power is used. Curiously, the Pro console won’t be able to play 4K Blu-Rays, which seems like a strange omission – whether they allow for this in some kind of future firmware update remains to be seen.
New PlayStation hardware – how Pro will complement VR
One point of concern for a number of gamers was whether or not they could still enjoy PlayStation VR on the regular PS4 when a Pro model exists, and here Mark Cerny stated that PSVR owners who have a PS4 Pro can enjoy “richer” special effects, “crisper” scenes and higher frame rates. The latter point sent alarm bells ringing for a number of people who intend to enjoy PSVR on an original PS4 (as someone who’s preordered the headset myself it was a bit concerning), but we can’t forget that Sony had previously told developers that PSVR games which didn’t hit a 60FPS minimum were likely to be rejected. This suggests that PS4 Pro will offer higher framerates for PSVR, but that the framerates on both consoles will be stable.
New PlayStation hardware – worth going Pro?
Both pieces of new PlayStation hardware are priced quite attractively, and it will be interesting to see how they measure up compared to Project Scorpio and the Xbox One S, but it’s clear that fans of both consoles will have some interesting new purchasing decisions to make. Many have said that the new graphics technology will only appeal to a small audience until there are more televisions that fully take advantage of 4K and HDR technology, and so unless you’re part of that small audience it’s better to wait. There may be a time when 4K and HDR-enabled displays become as affordable as regular HDTVs are today, but if you’re not in the market for that kind of tech, there’s still plenty to enjoy on current hardware.
Read more at the Europe PS Blog
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