Later this year, Sony are anticipated to release the PlayStation 4 NEO, a mid cycle revision for the PlayStation 4 in the vein of Nintendo’s New Nintendo 3DS- this new console revision will basically have expanded power compared to the base PS4 model, with higher and better specs, causing better performance on games, and better rumored VR functionality.
However, a lot of people are having concerns – validly, it may be added – that a more powerful PS4 could lead to their current model getting the shaft, with the baseline PS4 models getting poorer performing games as a result of developers targeting higher specs. This was a concern that we brought up with Kai Tuovinen from FrozenByte games in an exclusive interview we had with him, and he he does seem to be pondering the question himself- his answer does seem to suggest that developers are still trying to come to terms with the new upgraded console.
“I believe that’s a valid concern and what a lot of people are fearing. If the rumors are true about mandatory support for the “old PS4”, then it’s a bit puzzling what the purpose of NEO really is from a developer perspective,” he said. ” Of course as developers we’d want to support both platforms, but if we were making a game that could only run on the higher spec device, we’d have to consider our options on what to do with the version that’s coming to the older hardware to make it work. Naturally we’d look for a solution that would be great for both,” he finished.
Essentially, then, it sounds like the PS4 NEO is a bit of a splinter without cause- it seems to be puzzling developers, because while they are being given more power, they are also apparently being forbidden from using it. Things may be clearer when we have Sony’s final, official, formal announcement of the console, and how it will work, in hand- but until then, I guess we are all feeling a bit confused.
