PlayStation Neo Information Leak

A PlayStation Neo slide presentation has just been released online. Video game analyst ZhugeEX shares the presentation on Twitter and confirms that it is indeed a real leak. With the NEO being hinted at a Fall release, any bit of information is welcome.

Digging into the meat of the presentation, the slides mostly cover what we already know. The PS4 will support 4K televisions as well as any regular HDTV. The console will also be forward compatible further illustrating that faster console cycles are on the way. The real story in the presentation is the development process and story between Sony and the developers. The presentation seems like it was sent for developers as it details practices in how to squeeze out as much power from the Neo as possible.

Many details on how to optimize titles are shared. For one, the deck shares issues some developers have had achieving 4K. The presentation states that devolopers must “Prepare a 3840×2160 display buffer, usually using an efficient rendering technique such as “checkerboard rendering,” when a 4K TV is connected.” A technique that is similar to what Xbox One game Quantum Break used in order to support its visuals. Further on we see some developer feedback with frustration on having to create buffers for both 1080p and 4K TV’s. As a way around the issue some developers have developed techniques in which 4k display buffers have been scaled down for output on HDTV’s. In order to accommodate developers, Sony is working on allowing the next SDK versions to better support this area. It also seems as though some developers are struggling to get better resolutions than the existing PS4 with words like “Some developers have reported that in order to keep the frame rate of the NEO version above that of the original PlayStation®4, the resolution of the display buffer must be reduced.” The entire presentation offers assistance to developers who are in need of getting better than 1080p output.

With all of this being said, it should be noted that this is a pre-release presentation intended for developers. Not only that but the presentation is several months old. Sony could very well have fixed any issues they have had with the Neo devkits and now have better support in offering a true 4k experience. At the same time one has to wonder if VR gaming will affect performance negatively.

We will have to wait until the official release in order to see how the Neo performs in actual gameplay. For all news gaming follow TICGN.

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