Here's everything you need to know about the PlayStation Neo
It's okay, it's got nothing to do with the Matrix
The PlayStation 4 is yet to celebrate its third birthday- but Sony is already hard at work improving its fledgling power house with a new, upgraded model.
So, is it time to cue up a console training montage of black boxes running up stairs and punching old floppy discs? Here's everything you need to know about the PlayStation 'Neo'.
The what?
After rumours started circling that PlayStation was working on a new improved console, code named the 'NEO', CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment Andrew House took the decision to break cover and tell the Financial Times it was really happening.
The new "high-end" console will be more expensive than the current PlayStation 4, but wouldn't replace the older model.
"We will be selling both through the life cycle," he said, outlining that the new system will be aimed at 'hardcore' gamers (like normal gamers, but with less money and more games), supporting 4K TVs and offering a smoother user experience for the PlayStation VR.
Hey - wasn't the PlayStation VR given the codename 'Morpheus'?
Yes it was. You've been paying attention, haven't you?
Andrew House's comments would lead us to believe that the Neo will have a close relationship with the PlayStation VR (formerly Morpheus) offering: with more power in its black box, the Neo would allow game developers to build even smoother, more immersive VR experiences.
VR games will still work on your 'normal' PS4, but the best experience would be available to those with a Neo.
What makes it 'better'?
In short, it'lll be able to run games with 4K graphics (so long as you've got a fancy 4K telly).
The improved console would build on the base of the PlayStation 4, improving the central processing unit, graphics processing unit and pushing up the memory.
All of this translates into a higher, more stable frame rate, which means your games will look even more real.
Which is what we all want. Right?
Will my old PlayStation 4 still work with new games?
Yes, definitely.
As Andrew House hinted, Sony is at pains not to divide its users into two camps: all games and hardware will work with both consoles.
Games released before the arrival of the Neo will also work on the new console, but they'll only receive a graphics improvement if the developers release a patch to take advantage of the new hardware.
When will we find out more
Sony has sent out invites to a number of games media for an event at the PlayStation Theater on 7 September, stating ""We hope to see you there, and we can’t wait to share details with you about the PlayStation business."
Given that the Neo wasn't shown off at E3 - an event at which Microsoft showed off not only the new Xbox One S but its mysterious Project Scorpio - many are suggesting that the event will be used to showcase the new console.
We'll have to wait until 7 September to know for sure.
