Sony may be preparing to release a more powerful version of the PlayStation 4 with extra graphical firepower. According to a report from Kotaku, Sony has begun briefing game publishers on its plans for the new hardware in recent weeks, including at a series of meetings held at the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco this week.
Citing multiple anonymous developer sources, the report states that the primary difference between the so-called “PS4.5” and the current model would be an upgraded GPU. The more powerful hardware would allow developers to make games that run at 4K resolution. The current PS4 can play videos and show images in 4K, but games only run at 1080p.
An upgraded GPU would also make the console a more capable VR computing solution. Depending on the nature of the upgrade, the new hardware may level the playing field between PlayStation VR and the more demanding Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets, which run in conjunction with PCs and have highly demanding hardware requirements.
Kotaku did not receive information on when the new PlayStation 4 would launch, or how much it would cost. However, one source apparently described the meeting as “exploratory” and implied that the device would likely not launch this year. It is also unclear whether or not Sony will offer an upgrade path for players who own the original version of the PlayStation 4.
The news comes just a few weeks after Xbox chief Phil Spencer told the press he believed the future of console gaming would involve “upgradable hardware” and an iterative release cycle similar to the smartphone market.
“We can effectively feel a little bit more like we see on PC, where I can still go back and run my old Doom and Quake games that I used to play years ago, but I can still see the best 4K games come out and my library is always with me,” Spencer said during the Xbox Spring Showcase earlier this month.
Between the new PlayStation 4, Spencer’s upgradable Xbox tease, and the Nintendo NX console (which some believe may launch this year), there is now reason to believe all three console manufacturers have new hardware in active development.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.