Continuing on from yesterday’s report about the PS4.5 [codenamed NEO], Digital Foundry has provided further details about the potential new PlayStation 4 model, based on information from documents Sony is giving to developers:
The DualShock 4 controller will unchanged and Sony has mandated that all existing peripherals should be supported with no segregation between PS4 and Neo.
While the PS4.5 will offer improved frame-rates and graphics, Sony is telling developers that PS4 games played in Neo Mode must run at 1080p or higher, and the frame-rate must meet or exceed its performance on the original PS4 model.
If a PlayStation title supports online features, they must be deployed equally on both systems. Developers cannot have Neo-only servers. We believe this may actually introduce gameplay balance issues if, say, the Neo version hits 60fps while the PS4 version is capped at 30fps.
As for save data for games and back-ups, it’s interchangeable between both systems by default, but Sony is leaving save-swapping between the two models through USB or cloud storage up to developers.
Sony really wants Neo support on all games from October onwards. While older titles can have Neo features patched in, the platform holder will not allow new titles to add Neo features at a later date.
For your PlayStation Network ID, it can be used on both the PS4 and PS4.5. However, you can only have one Primary Console activated at a time, and the same PSN ID can’t be logged in on more than one PS4 model at a time.
Sony will allow developers to add Neo features to older games through updates, while games released after October 2016 won’t be allowed to patch in new Neo features.
Developers will not be allowed to add exclusive content to either model. However, developers are allowed to enhanced certain features, for example, having two-player split-screen mode on PS4 could support four-player split-screen on PS4.5.
Other tidbits from the documents include:
►Trophies and unlock rules must be identical for both models
►Themes and avatars work on both models; PlayStation Store game pages and physical retail packaging for games are expected to list PS4.5-specific features
►PS4.5 can run unenhanced PS4 titles
►Sony is considering 1080p gameplay streaming and recording on PS4.5
As this isn’t final, all of the information from these documents is subject to change. We’ll have to wait for an official announcement from Sony before truly knowing what’s included with the PS4.5.
