Report: Sony introducing new PlayStation 4 model next month

Sony may be introducing more than one new PlayStation 4.

It’s about to be a very big fall for Sony’s PlayStation division. Not only is the company releasing its PlayStation VR add-on in October, it recently announced a special PlayStation 4 event for next month in New York. Now, according to a new report, that event may very well show off two new PlayStations.

Per The Wall Street Journal, Sony will announce an updated standard PlayStation 4 next month. Reportedly, the updated model will be slimmer — and cheaper — than the current $350 iteration.

This is not the same model that’s earned the nickname of PS4 Neo among fans. That console will have better graphics capabilities and be more powerful overall. Reportedly, that PS4 will be able to handle 4K output.

This second console, however, seems more in line with Sony’s general trends and history. Both the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 saw “slim” models released during their lifetimes. The PS3 even had a “Super Slim” model on top of the regular slim model.

However, as noted in the original article, this would be the first time that Sony had two separate versions of its consoles on the market at the same time. The WSJ quoted analysts as saying it’s an attempt to grab different corners of the market, which makes total sense. There are gamers out there who don’t necessarily care about a 4K experience, but haven’t yet picked up a PS4 because of price concerns. A slim model neatly rounds those buyers up in a way that Neo doesn’t.

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This report comes just two months after the official confirmation of the Xbox One S, a smaller-yet-more-powerful machine that looks like it didn’t want to steal the ‘slim’ moniker from Sony. Meanwhile, Nintendo is hard at work on its NX, which will drop in March 2017.

Sony’s big September PlayStation event is set for September 7. Expect some Neo news and more details on the skinnier PS4, apparently.