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PS4 Pro coming November 10 for $399

Slim becomes new default PS4 model next week, Pro to offer boosted graphics of existing games as well as 4K and HDR support

Sony wasted no time at its conference today to confirm the already leaked PlayStation 4 slim model. The new hardware, which is simply called the PS4, will replace the older model as the default PS4 hardware going forward, said Andrew House, who announced that the console would launch on September 15 for $299 in most markets. House then quickly transitioned to formally introduce the more powerful PS4 Pro, which had been previously codenamed Neo. Noting that with PS4 "we're pretty much maxing out what we can do with 1080p games," House was excited to talk about how 4K and HDR technologies will impact gameplay experiences on PS4 Pro.

House introduced lead architect Mark Cerny who stressed that PS4 Pro is "not intended to blur the lines between console generations." Indeed, Pro is meant to sit alongside the original/slim PS4 and be completely "forward compatible." That means that a number of existing first-party and third-party games will get patched to bring about enhanced visuals. The PS4 Pro comes with a GPU that's had its power doubled, a CPU with increased clock rate and a 1TB hard drive. "PS4 Pro will reach resolutions not thought possible in this generation... and provides unparalleled experiences for a 4K TV owner," Cerny said.

Sony showed off titles like Insomniac's previously announced Spider-Man game, Ubisoft's For Honor, Square Enix's Deus Ex and Rise of The Tomb Raider, and Ubi's Watch Dogs 2, all running in 4K detail. Some titles like Bend Studio's Days Gone also were shown in gorgeous HDR color clarity. Even if you don't have an HDR/4K TV, Sony noted that the PS4 Pro will make the games look better on a standard 1080p TV. Features like supersampling antialiasing will bring increased quality to an HDTV. And of course, the extra graphical horsepower of PS4 Pro can make the virtual reality experience more immersive as well, Sony said.

Sony also used the event to showcase games like Horizon: Zero Dawn in 4K and HDR and to announce that Mass Effect Andromeda from BioWare will launch for PS4 Pro next year. Activision's upcoming Call of Duty this holiday season will support PS4 Pro on day one. Activision said it wants to ensure "one unified PS4 community," for its Call of Duty players.

Additionally, on the entertainment side, Sony announced that Netflix has partnered with Sony to launch a new app for PS4 Pro that will bring 600 hours of 4K and HDR video content to enjoy. YouTube is working on a PS4 Pro app as well.

As the conference drew to a close, House stated that PS4 Pro will officially launch on November 10 for $399. And, furthermore, Sony is so excited about the potential of HDR that it's issuing a firmware update next week to bring HDR to all 40 million PS4 consoles already sold to consumers.

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James Brightman

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James Brightman has been covering the games industry since 2003 and has been an avid gamer since the days of Atari and Intellivision. He was previously EIC and co-founder of IndustryGamers and spent several years leading GameDaily Biz at AOL prior to that.

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