Reiterating Sony’s firm stance on how the PS4 is to be positioned, Sony Japan’s President Atsushi Morita told Weekly Famitsu magazine (thanks, Dualshockers) that the PS4 Neo is, in Sony speak, “Still a PS4.” As opposed to, say, a PS 4.5, or 4K PS4, or rushed-to-the-market-PS5.
Morita discussed how, for long, the market has recognised the concept of a console life cycle, and that this was something PlayStation historically moved according to. However, with increasing convergence, and developments in other markets, particularly the mobile and PC markets, Morita feels that it is time to reconsider the old approach.
With PS4 Neo, Morita implies that Sony is looking to bring in something more akin to PC, with faster, iterative updates that bring enhanced experiences, without completely upsetting the existing ecosystem.
Both the PS4 and the Xbox One have experienced incredibly fast uptake, the PS4 especially: There are over 40 million PS4 units out in world as of now. Understandably, Sony’s playing it safe with the Neo, offering it as, essentially, an enhanced PS4, to avoid alienating early PS4 adopters.