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Bloomberg
Sony Corp. recently released two new versions of its PlayStation 4 gaming consoles: the PS4 Pro, a powerful device designed to run virtual reality games and display high-quality video, and a slimmer, more efficient version of the PS4, an incremental improvement on the original, which was first released in November 2013.
The PS4 Pro will go on sale Nov. 10, for $399. The PS4 will cost $299 — $50 less than the standard PS4 today — and will be available in most markets on Sept. 15. Aspects of both devices have leaked out or been openly discussed by Sony over the last several months.
For most consumer electronics devices, it’s not unusual to release updated versions after a three-year rest. But gaming consoles operate on their own rhythm. Seven years passed between the release of the PlayStation 3 and the PS4, Sony’s last new console. The devices unveiled Wednesday don’t technically count as a new generation — the gaming press has regularly referred to the PS4 Pro as a kind of PS four-and-a-half. But they do mark a notable shift toward a strategy of more frequent updates in the hopes that people will pony up for a new console more than once or twice a decade.
“We’re adjusting and accelerating our innovation cadence,†said Andrew House, chief executive officer of Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Microsoft Corp., Sony’s main rival in the gaming business, is taking a similar approach. It’s already selling a powered-up, slimmed-down version of the Xbox One, called the Xbox One S. At the E3 gaming conference in June, Microsoft announced plans for a bigger update, which it is currently calling Project Scorpio. Details remain vague — Xbox seemed to rush the announcement to undercut similar news from Sony. But Microsoft says it will go on sale in late 2017, and will be more powerful than any other console on the market when it does.
There are a few factors pushing this shift to more frequent updates.
Game consoles are an oddity among gadgets. Not many other products can be marketed as must-have devices even after they’re a half-dozen years out of date. Meanwhile, a range of other options for playing video games — from high-powered personal computers to inexpensive smartphones — are
updated much more frequently.
Older consoles risk seeming underpowered by comparison.