Perhaps you watched the reveal of the PlayStation 4 Pro last night, perhaps you didn’t. Aside from Mark Cerny’s hypnotically cool and calm voice, it was a little underwhelming – especially watched from a 1080p YouTube stream on the other side of the planet; hardly the best way to see 4K output, or the much touted High Dynamic Range imaging.
From the comfort of my laptop, the whole reveal was muted and dull and entirely underwhelming. There’s very little that I saw from the stream that convinced me that I need to shell out the $399 or, locally, the R6500 (guesstimated) necessary to upgrade. The new console is roughly twice as powerful as the existing PlayStation 4, but its features seem squarely aimed at those with new-fangled UHD screens, something I’m not fortunate or fiscally-endowed enough to own. The PS4 Pro is a nice upgrade, but it practically demands a display upgrade too.
What impetus is there for me, a 1080p screen toting consumer to upgrade to the new PlayStation 4 Pro? What I expected, but saw nothing of during the stream was any emphasis on how existing and future games running on the PlayStation 4 Pro would have better frame rates. Being able to play Bloodborne or The Witcher 3 at a solid 60fps on the PS4 would be enticing.
The only thing from the stream that made me even consider upgrading was that PlayStation VR would be a better experience on the new console. But here’s something else that’s making me question my previously steadfast decision to give the PS4 Pro a skip; it supports supersampling.
Speaking in a stream after the conference Guerrilla Games Art Director Jan-Bart Van Beek, Insomniac Games Co-Founder Brian Hastings and Naughty Dog Lead Programmer Christian Gyrling explained some of the many advantages of the PS4 Pro, and one stuck out for me as a 1080p screen owner. According to Van Beek, The PlayStation 4 supports supersampling. For many of you PC gamers, supersampling is nothing especially new. Nvidia’s supported their own “Dynamic Super Resolution” for years. While AMD has its “Virtual Super Resolution.”
In effect, what this means is that the game will be rendered internally at a higher resolution, and then downscaled to fit your display. What that means, is that you’ll have a much crisper output, less aliasing and jaggies, and much less shimmer. It won’t quite have the impact that 4K would have, but it will make your games look better on your existing screens. On top of that, you will experience better, more stable frame rates in both 30 and 60 fps games on the pro.
The system will detect your display through HDMI, and adjust game output to match. Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry discusses it in their excellent break down of the PS4 Pro.
“However, game-makers also have the opportunity to prepare different presentations depending on the screen attached. So if you have a 1080p display, you might see more lush visuals, whereas if you have a 4K display on tap, you may get a resolution boost.“
Has the PS4 Pro enticed you, or are you content with what you have right now?
Last Updated: September 8, 2016
Dutch Matrix
September 8, 2016 at 08:01
For the price tag attached, I am going to say I am content for now. Graphics, honest to goodness said, whilst pretty to look at never sold a game for me. As long as I get a stream of new games coming for my current PS4 I’ll be happy as a Dutch in a boshcenbol bakery…
Matthew Holliday
September 8, 2016 at 09:47
Since the game price increase, its pretty tempting for the master race users, even with that price tag, its still cheaper than the nvidia 1070, which is what most 970 owners are drooling over, and since I’ve got no more relatives to sell to fund our addiction, I dont see a 1070 in my future.
Dutch Matrix
September 8, 2016 at 10:00
Yeah no. R8.5k for a graphics card?
Thanks but you can keep it…
The Order of the Banana
September 8, 2016 at 10:36
Shudder… and then you need to get a new motherboard, new CPU, memory…
Wallet says “No”
Original Heretic
September 8, 2016 at 08:07
If they bring out games that require the PS4 Pro, then:
a) I’m going to be extremely pissed off
b) I will consider getting the newer machine.
Until then, I’ll stick with what I have.
Truth Hurts!
September 8, 2016 at 08:38
Don’t forget the nightmare of having to reinstall games, expansions and patches.
I’m looking at you Witcher 3.
Original Heretic
September 8, 2016 at 08:46
If I change over, it’ll be for new games only.
And as for Witcher 3, that’s why I’m planning on getting the GOTY edition. No need for all those huge downloads, all already included.
HairyEwok
September 8, 2016 at 09:21
GOTY on PC is 43 gigs…. But oh boy it’s every gig downloaded worth it.
Original Heretic
September 8, 2016 at 09:27
I’ve got the original on PS4. So gonna take it in to BT, trade it in and get me the GOTY.
Geoffrey Tim
September 8, 2016 at 10:13
just backup to xternal drive, and restore. 🙂
Allykhat
September 8, 2016 at 11:19
Sony already confirmed there will not be Pro only exclusives. They dont want to splinter the player base.
Original Heretic
September 8, 2016 at 11:21
That’s what they’re saying now. Companies have been known to change their minds. Even the ones that people have always trusted.
The Order of the Banana
September 8, 2016 at 11:22
Sadly OH is right! You can never trust companies!
Allykhat
September 8, 2016 at 11:25
Fair enough, but it is going to happen eventually whether we like it or not. Presently, Sony have mandated that all games run on all PS4 consoles whether they are Launch, Slim or Pro editions. So we should be good for a while.
Original Heretic
September 8, 2016 at 11:26
And when it happens, well, see points a) and b) above!
Allykhat
September 8, 2016 at 11:30
Hahaha yeah dude. MS are more than likely going to do the same thing with Scorpio. Personally, they should just release modular consoles. Let people upgrade what they want to upgrade.
Original Heretic
September 8, 2016 at 11:37
EXACTLY what I’ve been touting as well.
The Order of the Banana
September 8, 2016 at 08:15
Praise the rising Sun!
Dutch Matrix
September 8, 2016 at 08:23
Heathen! I hope they make bananabread out of you!
Charl
September 8, 2016 at 08:29
I have been sitting on the fence waiting to upgrade to the current gen consoles. Wanted to see how things pan out a bit into the generation.
Does make for an interesting right now about which way to go. I am going to be buying into it over Nov/Dec. But Xbox SA can’t give any details on Xbox One S release dates. And Scorpio is not even on the horizon. After the Sony event it now seems like the PS4 Slim and the PS4 Pro will be available when I am buying.
So as it stands right now I am probably going to go for a PS4, and grab a Xbox One secondhand just for the sake of it.
MakeItLegal
September 8, 2016 at 09:11
Selling mine if you are and in jhb ? 3 games on disc about 10 on the HDD and has remote , selling for 4k, awe peace
Reason for selling , steam sales and got a 1070gtx yesterday so I need a new monitor
Charl
September 8, 2016 at 09:57
In Cape Town, but thanks. I’m sitting on the idea a little longer and then making a decision.
Ottokie
September 8, 2016 at 08:36
If you don’t own one already, this is probably the best time to pick one up. Since the price is on par with current prices and there was no significant price increase (was personally expecting this thing to retail close to R10k)
K1FF J1MB0B (sizzle edition)
September 8, 2016 at 08:40
Looks like cool improvements for some games, even with only 1080p TVs, but way I’m seeing it is I’ll only pick one of these up if my current PS4 breaks. I have a feel that most people will adopt the Pro console in this fashion.
HairyEwok
September 8, 2016 at 09:20
So, there’s the PS4 and now the PS4 Pro and in the not so distant future the Neo. All consoles range between R5k and R7k.. That’s R13k on average after you sold all the previous consoles.
For a PC player that’s a GTX 1080 right there.
Charl
September 8, 2016 at 09:57
PS4 Pro is the Neo.
HairyEwok
September 8, 2016 at 09:58
I liked the name Neo more T-T
Charl
September 8, 2016 at 10:12
It was a pretty sweet name.
The Order of the Banana
September 8, 2016 at 09:40
Honestly though, the pro looks like something went wrong in the lab, and two PS4s were spliced together…
The Order of the Banana
September 8, 2016 at 10:19
Screw all you haters, PS4 Pro will make me a real boy! And I will bask in its glory! My PS4 Pro Savings account has just been opened and I will gladly buy one in November or December – or whenever it reaches our dirty shores!
SONY 4 LIFE!
Allykhat
September 8, 2016 at 11:17
All hail the order of the banana!
Such sense, much wow.
The Order of the Banana
September 8, 2016 at 11:21
Easy there… if you find sense in my words, you’re clearly having too much to drink and need to call someone to drive you home.
Allykhat
September 8, 2016 at 11:26
No officer *hic*
Archdruid Kromas
September 8, 2016 at 10:43
The thing that struck me most about that conference was the Mass Effect tech demo. I thought to myself “If mass Effect looks this good on a crappy machine then immagine how awesome it will look on my gaming rig”
#MasterRace
😛
K1FF J1MB0B (sizzle edition)
September 8, 2016 at 11:05
It will look that good 5 patches later after they’ve fix the port ;-P
Archdruid Kromas
September 8, 2016 at 11:18
One thing I can say about EA ports is that day work damn near perfectly after the massive day 1 patch. Controll scheme for DA:I was a bit wonky but everything else was fine for every other game. (cept EA sports but who cares about those games. Also NFS I heard was terrible)
K1FF J1MB0B (sizzle edition)
September 8, 2016 at 11:33
good stuff
Sageville
September 8, 2016 at 12:20
Also, they said that all existing PS4s will receive a firmware patch in a few weeks to “activate” HDR capabilities…
Viper_ZA
September 8, 2016 at 13:39
Still rocking a 720p TV so no.
chimera_85
September 8, 2016 at 15:59
Yes but won’t games that can run at 60fps on the Pro but can’t on the vanilla PS4 so are then dumbed down to 30 be made to run at 60 on the Pro?