The rumours of a new PlayStation console are building, and it's all to do with The Matrix

7 months ago

PlayStation 4K and PlayStation 4.5.

Both are names that popping up with increasing regularity in the gaming rumour mill. It was at the game Developers’ Conference in mid-March where the rumours really began to pick up, as several gaming sites, sparked by Kotaku allegedly over-hearing developers discussing a “PS 4.5″, began to report that the device did indeed exist.

A further leaked report earlier this week from Giant Bomb has now claimed that the new console exists, and is referred to at Sony by the codename “NEO”.

Considering that PlayStation VR was codenamed “Project Morpheus”, Twitter thinks Sony has been watching The Matrix too much.

It also begs the question whether the new console will be “The One”?

A host of specifications for the apparent console have also appeared online, suggesting a faster, more powerful version of the current PlayStation 4 – with the added ability to handle 4K content.

It’s also understood that Sony does not see this as a replacement for the PS4 – which is not surprising given that the console is only around three years old and has been and remains a huge success. Instead, it is being reported that the NEO would sit alongside the PS4 in a PlayStation range that would see the two use the same PlayStation Network, Store and online communities.

According to reports, there will be no NEO-exclusive games either – leaving the console purely as a higher spec alternative to the original PS4.

Price details and a launch date remain a mystery, though many within the industry expect it to be around the traditional gaming rush that comes in the autumn, with an actual unveiling ahead of that at E3 this summer.

It’s only then that the full details will emerge, but with Sony also due to release their own virtual reality system this year – PlayStation VR – that will plug into PS4 consoles, the technology giant is already setting itself up for a busy second half of the year.