After the PS4 Pro’s reveal in New York City, Mark Cerny sat down with the Sid from PlayStation Blog to dish out additional information about their new powerful console. It was quite clear that during PS4 Pro’s initial reveal which only lasted 45 minutes, Sony didn’t want to get bogged down with nitty gritty details and instead wanted to focus on big picture ideas. However with the reveal out of the way, Cerny, who has been the lead system artichect on both PS4 and PS4 Pro, was able to take the time and give some interesting insight on the new console.

• PS4 Pro “is not the start of a new generation nor it is a console that is going to blur the lines between generation.” According to Cerny, that’s important because there is “a certain cadence to game development.” At the start of a generation there’s a lot of work to be done, and adjustment as developers adapt to the new tools and tech. It allows them to create entirely new types of games, but there’s a cost associated with it. The target for Sony is to bring the PS4 experience to a new level without the disruption caused by a new generation.
• The console is targeted mainly at higher fidelity graphics and smoother frame rate, which is important because they don’t alter the fundamental gameplay.
• Support from publisher developers has been “great,” adapting “very quickly” to the new platform.
• Sony is “asking” developers to support 4K with all new titles, and the same goes with HDR.
• According to Cerny, a third of the TVs sold this year are 4K compatible, while HDR is “definitely further out there” in terms of adoption, but having the console out now means that the games will be “ready and waiting” as HDR penetration increases.
• A 4K TV is not needed to enjoy PS4 Pro, with the game experience being enhanced in “any number of ways” on ordinary HDTV, and it also “dovetails very nicely” with PlayStation VR, granting “much crisper” and more detailed graphics on PS4 Pro.
• Sony is “working very hard” to ensure that PS4 remains a “single, unified community.” Most of the user experience is similar, the games are the same, and the network is the same. The one difference is that PS4 Pro gives developers to make their games more impactful and immersive, and Cerny is looking forward to see how developers take advantage of it.

For Sony, a lot is riding on PS4 Pro both internally and externally. When it comes to the industry, how will studios respond and utilize PS4 Pro without alienating PS4 owners? And how much additional cost and resources will it take for studios to when it comes to creating a game that can take proper advantage of PS4 Pro while still running smooth on PS4? On the other end of the spectrum, Sony has to make it clear to consumers that PS4 and PS4 Pro are in many ways one and the same. There are no ‘PS4 Pro only games’ and whatever accessories and games they currently own will work with the new console while still conveying a reason to purchase the new machine.

If you think about it, PC gaming or mobile gaming has always worked this way. Developers create different tiers of the same game that can run on a $800 gaming rig and a $1,500, albeit better. As for mobile, nearly every 6 months, if not certainly at the one year marker, new and improved phones come out that push their CPU/GPU capabilities which allow for far richer games. To that end, mobile developers are quick to embrace the new specs offered to them while still creating titles that don’t suddenly forgo the millions of older devices out there.

One of the biggest problems with the PS3/Xbox 360 era was just how long that cycle lasted which coincided with the rise of mobile which shows no sign of slowing down. If Sony can acclimate both the industry and consumers to the idea of more iterations of consoles than the average 5 year cycle, not only will developers win who are always hungry to push the envelope, but as will consumers who can expect bigger and better tech.

Discuss:

Did you find any of Mark’s comments enlightening?

[Via DualShockers]