@Benny_a: Actually, spoken by a 32 year old realist - you're simply wrong.
It will be the "same game" in the same way that game "A" plays on both a low-spec PC and a high-spec PC... It's the same game, but one is a version with inferior visuals. Taken from the original GiantBomb article:
"Games running in NEO mode will be able to use the hardware upgrades (and an additional 512 MiB in the memory budget) to offer increased and more stable frame rate and higher visual fidelity"
"The NEO will also support 4K image output, but games themselves are not required to be 4K native"
The additional graphical power will go towards additional graphical fidelity and, occasionally a higher resolution (based on the game - even double the GPU power is not enough to natively render most games in 4K)
You're deluded if you think the "no exclusive options" comment relates to graphical effects or graphical fidelity - hell, the PSVR can ONLY output in 1080p and even the OG versions will need to run at 60fps (with the external processing unit "supposedly" adding motion interpolation to effectively double frame rate via a post-processing codec) so that doesn't leave much wiggle room to differentiate PSVR games on the OG/new hardware.
You can argue that it's "all about frame rate and resolution" until the cows come home, it's simply not the case - but I wish you all the best on your quest.
@handofkain: It could render some games in 4K... But they won't be Witcher/Uncharted/Dark Souls types of AAA games. As an example, the PS3 actually internally rendered Okami in 4K and downscaled it to 1080p for a supersampling-type antialiasing implementation (gemoetry was pretty simple in that game though!)
The vast majority of games will use the additional (double) GPU power to bolster a 1080p experience though, I agree.
@kadaverhagga: The latest specs (if the leak is to be believed) put the APU GCN (Tahiti) hardware in line with the R9 290 - a card that was released at the same time as the PS4 with a launch price of $400... I fail to see how the PS4 should have "released" with these specs.
@Benny_a: Actually, PC developers do spend a significant amount of time optimising their games for different GPUs (normally by driver, rather than "model"). Ordinarily DX will take care of the rest.
... But that's beside the point.
While Sony won't technically be "alienating" OG console owners, they'll still be getting gimped/cut-down versions of future games.
@marcsmashing: It's a bottleneck in some games (see AC Unity!) but the 500mhz bump-per-core is pretty significant. Also, considering all games will be designed with the OG model in mind there probably won't be that many situations where the NEO version will have enough additional CPU-overhead to really take full advantage of the additional power.
1.) For people wondering, the jump in GPU cores (within the APU) is the equivalent of moving from a Radeon HD7870 to an R9 290... A large upgrade when it comes to PC gaming, an absolutely beastly upgrade when it comes to console (and the optimisations afforded by the low level API). The boost to graphical power is significant and will be noticeable.
2.) It still won't have the power to render most games natively in 4K. The new version will likely have an HDMI 2.0 port and allow native upscaling (not rendering) which would mean the console does the upscaling, rather than the TV.
3.) They may include an UHD BluRay drive, bringing a new format/standard to the home for a reasonable price.
4.) I'm kinda annoyed about the whole thing. Sure, Sony may continue to support the OG model, but it's like me saying "Hey, buy a terrible PC, install a game and turn ALLLLL the settings down to minimum. You can't complain - it's exactly the same game"
5.) I feel like releasing this next year would be an easier sell. Pitching it alongside PSVR will make consumers (like myself) feel like they'll need to invest in the latest version for the "best" PSVR experience. Suddenly Rift + a GTX970 looks appealing.
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