PlayStation Meeting 2016 as it happened: PlayStation 4 PRO and Slim unveiled

The key takeaway points

Sony has two new consoles coming out, the PS4 PRO - which offers upgraded hardware for better graphical fidelity - and a slimmer model PS4 that is essentially the old PS4 in a sharp new suit.

The PS4 PRO will cost £349 and is released on November 10, 2016.

The slimmer model PS4 will cost £259 and is released on September 15, 2016.

PlayStation VR is still coming and will work best with PS4 PRO.

Here's the money shot

So there you have it. The PS4 PRO will cost £349 and be available to buy on November 10, 2016.

Will you be buying one?

Every PS4 from the beginning of time will be HDR capable after an update next week

You don't have to shell out for the new system for HDR. That's nice.

Mass Effect Andromeda gets shown off and it looks like, well, a Mass Effect game

You get to scan things and everything!

Does look graphically impressive though. You'll soon become a pro at scanning when playing Mass Effect on a PS4 PRO. See what I did there? I'll get my coat...

PS4 PRO makes your old games look better with forward compatibility

Games that have already been release can be patched for compatibility, unlocking better performance and graphics on the PlayStation 4 PRO.

Guess we'll get to see that scene on the unicorn in The Witcher 3 again with even greater graphical umpf than before.

Andy Hendrickson, Activision bigwig, is now on stage to talk about the next Call of Duty. It will support PS4 Pro out of the box. Out of the box people!

Now your murderous kill streaks will look better than ever!

PRO is also best for PlayStation VR - well, there's a surprise!

PS4 Neo is PS4 PRO!

Andrew House is up to start. He talks about Sony's desire to make the gamer the real focus.

Also Sony has been thinking about reconceptualizing how the gamer will want to play in the future.

Slim model is real, and it gets shown off on the big screen - it packs the same components as the original PS4.

Last Guardian, Watch Dogs 2 and more games coming out, but we knew that already.

September 15 is the on sale date for the PS4 Slim and it will cost $299.

Sony are excited about 4K and HDR - oooooooh, does this mean a 4K, HDR capable new system?

“Games are a natural for 4K and HDR”

******* PS4 Neo is PS4 PRO! **********

A new more powerful system is indeed coming and it is called PS4 PRO.

Lead System Architect Mark Cerny is now up talking about the PRO.

Cerny talks through lots of existing games, such as Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and upcoming games such as Watch Dogs 2. Take away message is: purdy graphics!

It's time to power on

That's right - the wait is FINALLY over. After months and months of speculation and leaks we are ready to find out what Sony has in store for us.

We'll be updating this hub throughout the event, so stay tuned...

Interestingly, the word on the old grapevine is that we will indeed be seeing two new consoles today.

Two new home systems launched side-by-side would be interesting though.

We got about 5 minutes to go now. Maybe start making those wishes to Santa in advance because we're guessing you've been bad this year.

What to expect from PlayStation Meeting 2016

The mighty Sony may not have officially announced a new console to tackle Microsoft's latest Xbox One S, but that's about to change. We could see not one but two new PlayStation consoles revealed TODAY at Sony's PlaySation Meeting 2016! So what's happening? Here we have all the information you need to stay in the loop.

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So when is Sony's big reveal taking place?

Scheduled for today (Wednesday 7 September) at the PlayStation Theater in Times Square, New York, the PlayStation Meeting 2016 is hotly tipped as the debut for some new versions of the near three-year-old PlayStation 4 console.

The event will be broadcast live over the web from 3PM ET (that'll be at 8PM BST for us here in the UK).

Where can I watch all the mystery unfold?

If you haven't been lucky enough to be invited down, you call still watch the PlayStation Meeting as it broadcasts live from the Big Apple. Two confirmed viewing destinations are the official PlayStation Twitch account and Sony PlayStation Blog, which already have offline PlayStation Meeting 2016 streams ready to go. In edition, while unconfirmed right now, we'll eat our T3-branded hats if the event isn't livestreamed on Sony's official PlayStation YouTube channel also.

What kind of new console are we going to see?

No one knows for certain yet, but a number of sources have confirmed that we'll be getting not one, but two versions of the PlayStation 4. One version will be slimline, meaning it'll be both smaller and lighter while still playing all the games already available for PS4.

According to said sources, this PS4 Slim will not support native 4K but will instead upscale to 4K and will come with a handful of new features including a slightly updated version of the PS4's DualShock 4 controller.

The other version is one that's getting everyone excited for the future of PS4 - Neo. Following suit with Sony's The Matrix-inspired codename for its VR headset, PlayStation VR (formerly known as Project Morpheus), the PS Neo (or PS4K, PS4.5) is both a new console and an upgrade of the console you know and love.

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So this is PS5 then?

No, but it's easy to think so considering how the rumours have been hyping up just how powerful PS Neo is going to be. For a start, it's going to have a far more powerful processor so it can support greater fidelity and grander interactive experiences with the PlayStation VR.

The PlayStation VR will still work with the PS4 you own now and the PS4 Slim, the PS Neo will purportedly just make it that much smoother and give developers more to work with in future games.

Will the PS4 Slim and PS4 Neo be 4K ready?

Yes and no. The PS4 Slim isn't expected to upscale select games to 4K, but it will offer a nice 4K UHD Blu-ray player to the mix so you can both games and watch films on your new 4K ready TV.

PS Neo (let's assume Sony will come up with a far less sexy name come next week) will upscale all PS4 games up to 4K and provide greater fidelity and graphical performance. Sony says no games will be exclusive to Neo, but rather come with an enhanced mode that offers an even smoother experience at the tick of a box.

Yup, so in other words it seems Sony will be competing directly with Microsoft's upgraded Xbox One S and its top-end Project Scorpio. However, the Xbox One S does seem to offer a little more bang for its buck thanks to its graphical upgrades for select titles such as Gears of War 4 and Forza Horizon 3.

So when will we all be getting our hands on these two new consoles?

Well, there's the rub. That occasionally reliable rumour mill has been set alight in the last months with reports Sony won't just be unveiling PS4 Slim and PS Neo but releasing them outright on the very same day.

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Is this BS or a potential reality? Well, with Xbox One S already out in the world and doing very well both commercially and critically (we at T3 were particularly impressed with it in our recent hands-on review), PS4 Slim getting an immediate release is a given.

PS Neo getting the same treatment does seem like overkil. True, PlayStation VR is set for release in October, but it would make more sense for Sony to let PS VR seed with consumers before unleashing another console. We'd expect Neo to be out around Christmas at the earliest.

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We're getting a new DualShock 4 as well then?

Yup, although this one is hardly a huge change. A number of PS4 Slim units have reportedly been making their way into the wild, with reports confirming the new version is basically the old one with a second lightbar on the front touchpad.

It's hardly a revolutionary change, but it's likely been made to support Sony's plans for the lightbar with PS VR (enabling you to see the changes in colour rather than having such a feature facing away from you.

How much will these new PS4s cost?

Sources of the Wall Street Journal also say PS4 Slim will be cheaper than the launch price of the original PS4 at $350 - which would put it right alongside the Xbox One S in terms of pricing.

There's no concrete details on the pricing for PS Neo quite yet, but with upgraded hardware under the hood we wouldn't be surprised to see it retail for around $399 or so (anything more would seem unwise considering how a price can sink a console before it even releases).

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