• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Digital Foundry - Several sources indicate Neo will launch this year

I think the Neo should get delayed to try to compete more with the Scorpio's specifications and so they can attempt to lower the pricing. I mean why release a considerably weaker console only for it to get outclassed by Microsoft's console in late 2017 and then it's back to square one again for Sony if they want to compete with power. Maybe people will buy the Neo to experience the exclusives, but personally I do not think releasing the Neo this year is a good idea, especially at a relatively high price like $400-$500. Then again, Sony wants that PSVR out this year, don't they? That could get them into some trouble imo.
 
Why would you buy Scorpio with PS5 on the way? This cat and mouse will continue past Scorpio.

Because PS5 won't launch until several years post Neo/Scorpio. Yet by the time Neo warms up, Scorpio games will be playable at that year's E3. This will be it from both companies for years to come, 3-4yrs minimum. But let's play Devil's advocate, the why buy if PS5 is around the corner also applies to Neo.

Here's what's likely going to happen, people who still haven't jumped to PS4 will wait for Neo, and it will do well. Same for Scorpio. Most people who already own both next gen consoles will likely upgrade just one of them and likely choose the better of the two, aka the better multi plats, Occulus support, etc., then you'll have the smallest group that will pick up both Neo and Scorpio.
 
I think the Neo should get delayed to try to compete more with the Scorpio's specifications and so they can attempt to lower the pricing. I mean why release a considerably weaker console only for it to get outclassed by Microsoft's console in late 2017 and then it's back to square one again for Sony if they want to compete with power. Maybe people will buy the Neo to experience the exclusives, but personally I do not think releasing the Neo this year is a good idea, especially at a relatively high price like $400-$500. Then again, Sony wants that PSVR out this year, don't they? That could get them into some trouble imo.

Why is it so important now that Sony bumps the specs? And i doubt they will throw away the Millions of Dollars of R&D just because they can catch up with MS.

Neo is set in Stone.
And we should maybe all wait until we have really seen games running on this two Console upgrades before calling doom and gloom because of some spec difference.
 
One of the things I'm noticing is that many people seem to be viewing this as a brand new console launch, with all the attendant issues that brings with it.

It isn't. It's neither the same as a slim redesign launch with the same specs and less money, but it isn't a full blown new box either.
 
BF1 support will probably decide if I buy a Neo this year otherwise I don't see any worthwhile games for it this year (unless there's a Bloodborne patch).
 
I think the Neo should get delayed to try to compete more with the Scorpio's specifications and so they can attempt to lower the pricing. I mean why release a considerably weaker console only for it to get outclassed by Microsoft's console in late 2017 and then it's back to square one again for Sony if they want to compete with power. Maybe people will buy the Neo to experience the exclusives, but personally I do not think releasing the Neo this year is a good idea, especially at a relatively high price like $400-$500. Then again, Sony wants that PSVR out this year, don't they? That could get them into some trouble imo.

with all the comments from sony about launching late ? i doubt theyll delay anything
 
First off, people will buy a Neo becuase Horizon: Zero Dawn, the Last Guardian, Destiny, Detroit: Become Human, and the same amount of exclusives Sony has coming - in the next few years will run at their absolute best quality with Neo.


Sony isn't going to release a successor to this Neo until atleast 2019 or 2020. Whenever the next big die shrink is. You don't just double in performance magically. A lot of factors from node size shrinks, efficiencies of new architure, etc. The next "BIG" AMD APU is set to release in 2019/2020.

You can than guess, the PS5 will launch in 2019/2020 whenever Sony gets a big boost in performance for a similar sized box.

This is what I've been saying since the Neo rumours started. Fixed 5-8 year generations are out and this is the new way of doing things. Makes a lot of sense to launch boosted consoles right at the launch of new tech/node bumps.

If done right it should please more people more of the time.
 
I think the Neo should get delayed to try to compete more with the Scorpio's specifications and so they can attempt to lower the pricing. I mean why release a considerably weaker console only for it to get outclassed by Microsoft's console in late 2017 and then it's back to square one again for Sony if they want to compete with power. Maybe people will buy the Neo to experience the exclusives, but personally I do not think releasing the Neo this year is a good idea, especially at a relatively high price like $400-$500. Then again, Sony wants that PSVR out this year, don't they? That could get them into some trouble imo.

Why is it so important now that Sony bumps the specs? And i doubt they will throw away the Millions of Dollars of R&D just because they can catch up with MS.

Neo is set in Stone.
And we should maybe all wait until we have really seen games running on this two Console upgrades before calling doom and gloom because of some spec difference.

Agreed with Jumper, - I think a bigger point would be the install base difference when Scorpio launches. PS4 will be closing in on 70 million sales when Scorpio launches, and with the whole point of these iterative consoles is to lock you in the ecosystem for good, I feel that they're in a way better position to do so.
 
It was obvious since they announced their 20m forecast.
Expect PS4 price cut + Neo announcement in September imo.

PS4 alone is selling 18 million a year, a price cut would already push it to over 20 million for fiscal 2016, a new SKU would be good for another five million. So no, their forecasts don't imply Neo launches earlier than March 2017.
 
Not sure why anyone would buy NEO with Scorpio on the way. Sony will likely release a console of similiar strength like scorpio next year or the year after.
Power difference is too large between NEO and Scorpio. I'd rather wait for a upgraded Neo instead of lashing out money for both

Maybe.

MS has pretty much told consumers they're cannibalizing their console space by releasing everything on Windows 10 as well.

People that want that living room experience will still be looking toward Scorpio, but otherwise you can just build a nice Rig and get two systems (PC/XBox) for the price of one.

Sonys got some in demand exclusives coming the next two years, and you'll need a PlayStation to play them.

It's going to be interesting to see how this all shakes out, and who moves towards who once we know the fallout
 
I think the Neo should get delayed to try to compete more with the Scorpio's specifications and so they can attempt to lower the pricing. I mean why release a considerably weaker console only for it to get outclassed by Microsoft's console in late 2017 and then it's back to square one again for Sony if they want to compete with power. Maybe people will buy the Neo to experience the exclusives, but personally I do not think releasing the Neo this year is a good idea, especially at a relatively high price like $400-$500. Then again, Sony wants that PSVR out this year, don't they? That could get them into some trouble imo.
I don't understand this notion where power is going to dictate which system people pick up. The majority of people that are only interested in power will likely have a pc. I understand there may be a small subset of gamers that are console only and want the most powerful console out there but I don't think that should worry Sony too much and I am sure they have better bullet points to counter with. Launching a year ahead is a big deal. By the time the Scorpio comes, they could plan a price cut for the neo, announce last of us 2 and death stranding for 2018 and launch exclusive games like God of war, Spider-Man, ff7remake episode 1 etc....which all have mass market appeal. Lower price and games will overcome the power difference narrative. Neo is going to be minimum 100$ cheaper than Scorpio and maybe more during its launch so it ain't going to be easy for MS
 
And for many 2016 multiplats such as Battlefield 1 [which will finally jump to 1080p with Neo :D], Final Fantasy XV, Titanfall 2 and multiplats that will come out before Scorpio is out. And when Scorpio comes out, Neo will get its pricedrop and possibly be significantly cheaper than competition.
A Neo-enhanced FFXV is very compelling, as it currently is not coming to PC.
 
I think they will announce it at its own special event in October or at Paris Games Week if they are there again and release it shortly after.
 
I wonder how many games will make use of it this year.

I would expect most/all fall games to benefit from it to various degrees. Most are just going to look closer to the PC version really. I also expect already released 2016 PS4 exclusives to take advantage of it (Ratchet, Uncharted, MLB)
 
I think the Neo should get delayed to try to compete more with the Scorpio's specifications and so they can attempt to lower the pricing. I mean why release a considerably weaker console only for it to get outclassed by Microsoft's console in late 2017 and then it's back to square one again for Sony if they want to compete with power. .

Sony wants to offer the benefits of more power not compete with more power for its own sake. There's a tipping point where a certain magnitude of improvement in power gives appreciable benefits. By the sound of the spec, Neo can be at that point this year. It could be enough to give a baseline bump to all PSVR frame rates up to the next tier, more than enough to enrichen 1080p targets, and enough to smooth or improve frame rates at that target.

If MS wants more power next year and apply it to the benefit of XB1 games at 4K native, that's great. But that might be a niche benefit tbh. I think Neo can bring broadly relevant benefits now so why wait? It's as easy to argue that MS might want to revise their spec/schedule balance and the priority of their design goals, if universal 4K native games is indeed their intended path.
 
Not sure why anyone would buy NEO with Scorpio on the way. Sony will likely release a console of similiar strength like scorpio next year or the year after.
Power difference is too large between NEO and Scorpio. I'd rather wait for a upgraded Neo instead of lashing out money for both


edit: clarified a little

Unlike scorpio, ps4 has a shit ton of exclusive stuff, all possibly upgraded with new features. Then there is the outlook of a better form factor, a better UI, better OS performance and extra Neo features. There are so many reasons to buy a Neo really.
 
Don't think you understood what i implied.

With MS releasing Scorpio next year Sony will either announce a machine with similiar strength next year or upgrade the Neo specs. We saw with PS4/XB1 that better hardware does have a impact on buying decision for people buying consoles.

So if there is another machine coming next year with better specs i don't see why anyone would buy neo this year similiar to i wouldn't buy a XB1S with Scorpio on the way.

I will go for NX most likely and Scorpio down the line (Becuase I don't have Xbox One). Doesn't make sense to me to buy a console that playes the same games when I have PS4 and don't care about 4K or VR.

Unless performance overtime on PS4 will take a hit when Sony and other developers shift focus to Neo and leave the console at Shadow of Mordor PS3 performance level.
 
I think the power differences between these half-gen upgrade consoles will matter far less than at the start of a proper new generation.

Both Sony and MS have said there won't be Neo/Scorpio exclusives, so the version of games available will always be enhanced current gen games. That will likely mean the same AI, same animation, same core everything, just with a much higher image fidelity and resolution of you have the TV for it.

The power gulf between Scorpio and Neo could only be truly tapped if they made exclusive games for the new Xbox. But they won't, they'll be effectively cross gen games.

It's like playing DSII on PS3 or PS4. The latter increases the res, doubles the frames rate, but otherwise is identical. It was only with proper next (now current) gen game that the full capabilities of the PS4 are used. You wouldn't be seeing the lines of UC4, Horizon, GoW if they were cross gen games limited by the existence of the PS3. Same will apply here.
 
Not sure why anyone would buy NEO with Scorpio on the way. Sony will likely release a console of similiar strength like scorpio next year or the year after.
Power difference is too large between NEO and Scorpio. I'd rather wait for a upgraded Neo instead of lashing out money for both


edit: clarified a little

I don't know, maybe there are people who actually prefer Sony's consoles and games over the competition. Sony has me way more excited after all the games they showed at E3, so I'm much more interested in the Neo and PSVR.
 
Neo will most likely launch in October to increase shipments for Q4. I think it will be $299 base ps4 and $399 Neo.

Base Ps4 $249 for black Friday and Xmas.
 
And for many 2016 multiplats such as Battlefield 1 [which will finally jump to 1080p with Neo :D], Final Fantasy XV, Titanfall 2 and multiplats that will come out before Scorpio is out. And when Scorpio comes out, Neo will get its pricedrop and possibly be significantly cheaper than competition.


I personally can't wait what quality will be possible on NiOh in 60fps mode.

Sony's job is to insure there's a significant price difference between it and Scorpio. If Sony drops the Neo price to $299 the moments Scorpio launches it could be a pretty big bruise that will continue driving PlayStation sales.
 
Why is it so important now that Sony bumps the specs? And i doubt they will throw away the Millions of Dollars of R&D just because they can catch up with MS.

Neo is set in Stone.
And we should maybe all wait until we have really seen games running on this two Console upgrades before calling doom and gloom because of some spec difference.
What millions in R&D, Sony is not doing a cell version 2.0 here. AMD had products catering to the mobile/console market in their pipeline for a while now, much of the work is theirs or has been done by them, Sony just sees to the other parts of the console and putting it together in a nicely package cool enough shell. Btw, AMD already has a Zen APU they've been working on for a while now (if they go that route). So Sony's R&D expenses is not close to what it used to be before.
 
I think the power differences between these half-gen upgrade consoles will matter far less than at the start of a proper new generation.

Both Sony and MS have said there won't be Neo/Scorpio exclusives, so the version of games available will always be enhanced current gen games. That will likely mean the same AI, same animation, same core everything, just with a much higher image fidelity and resolution of you have the TV for it.

The power gulf between Scorpio and Neo could only be truly tapped if they made exclusive games for them. But they won't, they'll be effectively cross gen games.

It's like playing DSII on PS3 or PS4. The latter increases the res, doubles the frames rate, but otherwise is identical. It was only with proper next (now current) gen game that the full capabilities of the PS4 are used. You wouldn't be seeing the lines of UC4, Horizon, GoW if they were cross gen games limited by the existence of the PS3. Same will apply here.

Exactly. The moment they announce no exclusive for enhance console, Neo and Scorpio fate already tie with their standard console.
They both will sold around 25% to 30% of their standard console and that's about it.
 
I wonder how many games will make use of it this year.

Technically everything released after October 1st, and anything released during September, will come with a Neo mode on day 1, or have one patched in post-release.

So...all of them from September onward?
 
I think the Neo should get delayed to try to compete more with the Scorpio's specifications and so they can attempt to lower the pricing. I mean why release a considerably weaker console only for it to get outclassed by Microsoft's console in late 2017

Neo specs are done. We know that developers already have the dev kits. They probably are already in preparation of producing the components.

They cannot just "delay" the console. They had to do that at least a year ago.

If they now want a more powerful console they basically have to start from scratch and throw all the work they already did away.

(No insider knowledge, just my own opinion)
 
I am genuinely confused as to why some of you seem to believe Sony need to 'react' to a competitor whose throat they have had under their foot from the moment this gen started.
 
Not sure why anyone would buy NEO with Scorpio on the way. Sony will likely release a console of similiar strength like scorpio next year or the year after.
Power difference is too large between NEO and Scorpio. I'd rather wait for a upgraded Neo instead of lashing out money for both


edit: clarified a little

Exclusives, price, timeframe, already in the ecosystem, etc. The are many other reasons to buy a console than power.

And I doubt Sony will release another console this generation. Muddies the waters to much and there really isn't any reason to. Neo is important because it allows for 4K and a better VR experience, it'll be years before another new console could offer the same improvements.
 
I am genuinely confused as to why some of you seem to believe Sony need to 'react' to a competitor whose throat they have had under their foot from the moment this gen started.

Because it's more then just gaming. MS releasing a 299 gaming system that plays UHD and supports HDR should not be taking lightly. Sony does have a TV division and wants to control that conversation like they did with PS3. I think some of you are really underplaying this and are hung up on just the gaming aspect of it.
 
So? People buying PSVR are not interest in a high end VR solution because it's expensive so there is no way they are investing the same amount of money in a headset and a slighty better version of a console that they may already own.

That's just like, your opinion man.

I'm buying PSVR and I already have a rift CV1. People love the experiences Sony create and facilitate, and if you enjoy VR, you'll want to be part of that.

Isn't the average gamer is over 30 these days? Dropping $750 or $800 on a super charged PS4 and a perfectly matched VR headset with a strong library of games isn't that much of a stretch. There should be plenty of interest to make both viable through the Christmas holiday period, and after that success depends on reviews, reception, word of mouth and hype.
 
Sooooo...TLG will have a Neo mode...

That's just like, your opinion man.

I'm buying PSVR and I already have a rift CV1. People love the experiences Sony create and facilitate, and if you enjoy VR, you'll want to be part of that.

Isn't the average gamer is over 30 these days? Dropping $750 or $800 on a super charged PS4 and a perfectly matched VR headset with a strong library of games isn't that much of a stretch. There should be plenty of interest to make both viable through the Christmas holiday period, and after that success depends on reviews, reception, word of mouth and hype.

Yup, that's pretty much what I'll be doing...missus isn't going to like it...
 
I think the Neo should get delayed to try to compete more with the Scorpio's specifications and so they can attempt to lower the pricing.

That's not how these things work. Neo is set in stone. Devkits have been with developers for some time. They'd be taking a pretty big loss to halt and reverse.
 
Question: Can I say Microsoft is the first-mover in iterative consoles and Sony was reactionary with Neo?

Scorpio alongside Xbox+Win10 integration looks more planned out and cohesive, while Sony's Neo specs suggests a hasty half-step.

You'd have to ignore the Neo already existing as dev kits, with fabrication of consumer models occurring this year. Where as Scorpio exist as a plan and an announcement.
 
Releasing the Neo as a premium console is a mistake. Ideally it replaces the existing console at the same price.

But it is a premium console? Why wouldn't they want to market it as such? It's more powerful than the existing PS4. It'll run VR really nicely. It'll support UHD BD. Who knows what else.

That's premium, for new or existing buyers.
 
But it is a premium console? Why wouldn't they want to market it as such? It's more powerful than the existing PS4. It'll run VR really nicely. It'll support UHD BD. Who knows what else.

That's premium, for new or existing buyers.

Exactly. Why the hell wouldn't you release it as a premium console? The marketing should and will be built around that. It would be suicide if it wasn't.
 
Sony's job is to insure there's a significant price difference between it and Scorpio. If Sony drops the Neo price to $299 the moments Scorpio launches it could be a pretty big bruise that will continue driving PlayStation sales.

They should also strategically put few exclusives in Scorpios launch month to ensure big fight at NPDs. God of War and Dreams for example. I doubt FF7R will be ready by then.
 
I think Sony will push PSVR hard these next few months leading up to launch to get people to get those preorders in they are already mentioning that it looks as though they will sell out so by then I imagine it will be difficult to get hold of one. I really don't think they will mention Neo much if at all until PSVR ships.

Once that is out the door I'm guessing they will then announce the Neo at a PSX which if I was them I would try and hold in November. By doing that if they are struggling to keep demand like they say they are with VR they will have got enough units out there to let word of mouth run its course to keep demand up. If they can do PSX in Novemeber and announce Neo they should ship in early December. They would capitalise on Xmas present buying and PSVR would still be in demand plus the Neo would enhance the VR experience with the extra power it provides.

I think Sony will leave it as long as possible to officially announce Neo because any announcement will slow down sales of PS4 as a lot of people will just wait for Neo. They want the gap between its announcement and release date to be as small as possible that's why I think it will probably work out like that, announce at PSX and release a few weeks later. The only problems will come from supply chains leaking info getting shipments of Neo's in stock.

At the PSX event they can show all this Xmas's hottest releases that are now improved with the extra power Neo provides and show how it improves the PSVR experience. Sony are going to have a good run at the tail end of this year that's for sure and I really don't see how MS can stop them as by the time Scorpio releases a lot of people will be invested in Sony's platform.
 
Not sure why anyone would buy NEO with Scorpio on the way. Sony will likely release a console of similiar strength like scorpio next year or the year after.
Power difference is too large between NEO and Scorpio. I'd rather wait for a upgraded Neo instead of lashing out money for both


edit: clarified a little

Not if you have a good PC. It's the Sony exclusives that do it for me.
 
Not sure why anyone would buy NEO with Scorpio on the way. Sony will likely release a console of similiar strength like scorpio next year or the year after.
Power difference is too large between NEO and Scorpio. I'd rather wait for a upgraded Neo instead of lashing out money for both


edit: clarified a little

Why would anyone buy Scorpio full stop though? All its games are on PC. PS4/Neo actually has a market with its stable of truly exclusive games.
 
Do you guys know why the Neo uses the parts that it does?

The Neo uses nearly the same chipset as the PS4. It also has the same flaws of the original design (weak CPU, etc.). Mantaining those deficits is critical in indirectly motivating a developer to tackle performance obstancles in a symmetrical and coherent way between PS4 and Neo.

In other words? Both have weak CPus, both have 8 GB of total memory, both have the exact same GPU parts- except one has twice as many CUs. A programmer is essentially working on two sister machines.

IMO Neo really is PS4 gone Super Saiyan. In a strange way, this shows Sony is commited to PS4 and it's inherent architectural DNA. Good on you Sony.
 
I could believe it, Sony kept referring to how Apple announce and release hardware so a quick turnaround isn't out of the question
 
Top Bottom