I don't really understand the point of doing this as I'm pretty positive that 4K isn't a thing yet. Isn't it still at that mid to higher tier in consumer pricing? Looking at Best Buy, the name brand stuff for their cheapest and smallest, such as Sony is like 900 bucks for a 40" TV. Most people don't have one, so why center your console around it now, directly affecting new games being made?
One very important thing to remember is that sony is NOT just a game maker, they do a whole host of electronics one of which is TV's. I see this move as a future outlook. not only will it extend the lifespan of the ps4, it will create more demand for 4K TV's that sony makes, increase the profit margin for PSVR by making the external processing unit (hopefully) unnecessary, and help increase total units sold for the PS4 as it will bring more on the fence gamers to purchase a ps4 instead of Xbone or Wii U or Jones conscious people to upgrade from their existing ps4 to the PS4K. also the fact that we are barely even half way through the console generation, updates keep interest. just look back through the Playstation generations and you will see 3+ different iterations on them all.
At first it seems like the New 3DS, and it is to a degree if Nintendo had not abandoned the idea of New 3DS exclusive games, but we saw with Hyrule Warriors Legends, they released a busted version of the game for regular 3DS owners.
The downside is that according to a verified person on Neogaf, games made with the new and improved specs, will suffer a drop in performance on original PS4 systems.
Their is already a major distinction here. with the NEW 3DS the exclusives WILL NOT work on the normal 3DS by the sounds of it the PS4K games will also be able to run on normal PS4's just with decreased performance. so this can not be considered a NEW console just an upgrade. this will also allow ps4 games to run a whole lot better than they do naturally.
Why do this now and not the next gen cycle when there's a greater selection of 4K owners?
as stated above To boost sales of sony brand 4K TV's, extend ps4 life, and to sell NEW units which is where their profit margin lies.
This just mostly seems like a terrible decision to take your currently very well selling system, and cut it's feet off in favor of a version that I don't think a ton of people are going to want.
I personally do not own a 4k tv nor do I plan on buying one but Price dependent I would purchase the PS4K just for that 4X+ processing power required to run 4X the pixels.
As an additional note. based on the rods and cones of the eye the optimal VR resolution is something above 4K for each eye (I will try and find the exact answer and post it here) while the optimal resolution of a tv based on distance sitting from it can be calculated here.
http://www.rtings.com/tv/learn/size-to-distance-relationshipEDIT: I found the answer and it shocked me
It's been well documented that the old "one arc minute resolution" standby of those who say 300 ppi at one foot is enough is, in fact, just wrong. Even if it were right (which it's not) experts differ over whether the comfortable field of view ranges form 60 degrees to 90 degrees. Even at the incorrect one arc minute that's 3600 to 5400 horizontal pixels in the field of view -- a lot more than the 1920 horizontal count or 1080p.
Also it's been well document that line widths (at extremely high resolution) can be seen at much, much less than that one arc minute. Some tests even show a truly black line that is less than 1/4th arc minute can be seen on a white background.
Then there's vernier resolution. Take two black lines at sub one arc minute and put them end to end then offset their ends by 0.1 arc minute. Many people can see that offset.
Then there's rotational perception. Take a circle that is done in black on a white background with the circle done with a line of one or more arc seconds. Then put a one arc second gap in it. Then rotate it slightly. Many, many people can see the gap change in position even if that movement is well under one arc minute -- some can see a motion as little as 0.1 arc minute.
The list of higher order perceptions goes on and on.
So if you were to build the "ultimate" screen what resolution would it be?
Well if you take that 90 degree field of view 5400 horizontal pixel screen and go to the 10 to 1 limit of some of the higher order perceptible aspects then you'd need at least a horizontal pixel count of 54,000 pixels. To be really certain to get beyond those odd few with "20/10" eyesight (I worked with one of these people a few years back) you'd need to double that -- 108,000 horizontal pixels.
So when do I expect to see my 54,000 x 108,000 pixel screen (so that I can't, in any way, tell it from a reality [ignoring 3D effects])? I'm guessing not in my lifetime.
