Sony’s boosting the power of the PlayStation 4, just in time for the release of its PlayStation VR virtual reality headset.
Today at its PlayStation Meeting, Sony announced the PlayStation 4 Pro, a more powerful version of the PS4 that will support 4K resolution, high-dynamic range and higher frame rates. What was previously rumored to be called the “PlayStation Neo” is described as a new, beefier version of Sony’s current-generation console, but not quite the start of a whole new console generation.
Mark Cerny, Sony’s lead system architect for the PS4, described the broad terms of the new machine’s capabilities. It packs a GPU that’s double the power of what’s standard in the PS4, a faster processor, and a 1-terabyte hard drive. What it does not include, as Engadget confirmed at the event, is an Ultra HD Blu-Ray player, meaning PS4 Pro won’t support 4k Blu-Ray discs — unlike Microsoft’s recently released Xbox One S.
Soon after Sony’s presentation, AMD released the full PS4 Pro specs:
Sony Computer Entertainment President Andrew House said PS4 games will support both versions of the hardware, so players won’t need to buy games they already own again in order to play them on PlayStation 4 Pro. Activision’s Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 will support PlayStation 4 Pro at its launch, as will Electronic Arts’ Mass Effect: Andromeda, Battlefield 1 and FIFA 17. The PlayStation Pro is also getting a new Netflix app that’ll feature more than 600 hours of 4K resolution.
You won’t need a new PlayStation 4 Pro for one nice graphical enhancement, though. House also noted that a firmware is coming to will add HDR support to all existing PS4s.
The PS Pro will run players $399 when it hits shelves on Nov. 10, which is $100 more than the PlayStation 4 Slim, another version of its console that Sony also announced at the event.
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.