The overhauled PlayStation 4 Pro supports 4K video streaming in preference to Ultra High Definition physical media as a result of existing user habits.
Announced on September 7 after six months' worth of speculation, the PlayStation 4 Pro offers console gamers an opportunity to keep up with developments in gaming technology -- but at the expense of 4k Blu-ray discs.
Ten years earlier, the PlayStation 3 had helped usher in HD-compatible Blu-ray discs, shipping with a Blu-ray drive as standard. Since August, Microsoft's revised Xbox One S has carried a Blu-ray drive -- one which is part of the current generation of BR players, able to read not only HD videos but Ultra HD as well, and bringing it into line with 4K standards.
Before the PS3, the PlayStation 2 had doubled as an inexpensive DVD player; the PS1 could play CDs. So it was to some surprise that the PS4 Pro was revealed to contain a standard Blu-ray drive rather than the 4k equivalent, even though it will support 4K gaming and 4k streaming media playback.
What's the reasoning for such a change in direction?
Sony Interactive Entertainment's CEO and President, Andrew House, led Wednesday's presentation; the console company had learned a thing or two from the PlayStation 4's life to date, he said.
"With our user base, [video streaming is] the second biggest use case for people's time on the system," House told The Guardian, "so we place more emphasis on that area"; Netflix and YouTube are developing new PS4 apps with 4k streaming in mind.
He also revealed another factor that influenced the development of the Pro.
About halfway through a console's lifespan -- around three or four years after it launches -- "players who want the very best graphical experience will start to migrate to PC, because that's obviously where it's to be had," House remarked.
"We wanted to keep those people," he said, "So the net result of those thoughts was PlayStation 4 Pro." Its "graphical approach to game improvement" arrives November 10, approximately 3 years after the PS4 first launched.
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