Sony: Expect PlayStation VR Shortages, Neo is a Higher End PS4 - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 15 June 2016 / 6,509 Views
Sony expects shortages with the PlayStation VR when it launches, however, the company will do its best to meet the demand.
"We have growing confidence that we'll be supply constrained with this product, but we'll do our very best to meet demand," Andrew House, president and group CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, told CNBC. "Virtual reality is a medium that's in its infancy. With such a nascent, very new form of storytelling, it's difficult to predict what user uptake is going to be."
"We're obviously very excited about the overall future potential for virtual reality and we think it's the right opportunity to start to build a market," House added. "But we need to keep reminding ourselves that you're requiring a very different user engagement than we have seen previously. … The experiences we are delivering are truly transformative for gaming and that will inspire a certain audience. How large that audience is remains to be seen."
Microsoft earlier this week announced a more powerful Xbox One, the Xbox Scorpio, will launch in holiday 2017. CNBC asked House about the upgraded PlayStation 4, codenamed Neo.
"It's a higher end version of the PlayStation 4," said House. "We will absolutely have a single community of players. All of the games releasing within this life cycle [of consoles] will absolutely be playable on the standard PS4 … This just offers the consumer another option. If you are looking for the highest graphics performance, if you recent bought a 4K TV and you're looking for content, then Neo is going to be great option for you. But it is that – an option – rather than saying the cycle has moved on."
House would not provide information if the Neo would release this year or next.
"People invest in a console and they want to have that investment validated over a decent period of time," he added. "That being said, with iterations like Neo we are, to some degree as an industry, acknowledging the pace of iteration has shifted. … People have become attuned to a slightly different cadence of innovation. The critical thing is to give the consumer options, rather than dictate the future for them."
PlayStation VR launches October 13th in North America for $399 with 50 games available between launch and the end of 2016.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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I will wait before I buy anything before I see the NEO
Even as a 4k tv owner I care little for PS4 Neo resolution doesn't do much without better textures AA and better effects.
Great. I don't need to buy a ps4 neo until my vanilla ps4 gets broken.
So much yes for this comment. Could not have said it any better myself. Unfortunately in today's world people will see that they have to actually do a little reading, and will skim past it, even though it is the most insightful comment I've read on this topic so far.
So much yes for this comment. Could not have said it any better myself. Unfortunately in today's world people will see that they have to actually do a little reading, and will skim past it, even though it is the most insightful comment I've read on this topic so far.
