What is PS4 Pro? Supported games, price and what’s in the box

Announced on-stage at an event in New York in September, Sony’s PlayStation 4 Pro is the platform holder’s hardware for serious gamers.

Previously known under the codename of ‘Neo’, the new console has double the graphical power of a ‘regular’ PlayStation 4.

That amounts to an impressive 4.2 teraflops. Next year’s Xbox Project Scorpio beats that with 6 teraflops but Microsoft is yet to announce a price.

So how is this power being put to use? First of all, the new hardware supports 4K gaming, as well as high dynamic range (HDR). That means sharper, more striking graphics, but for more on those see page 14.

The machine does not feature a 4K Blu-ray player, unlike Microsoft’s slim Xbox One S SKU. Sony has said that the reason for this omission was due a shift away from physical media, with consumers instead preferring to stream 4K TV from services such as Netflix.

Though 4K is one of the big selling points, there are reasons for gamers who don’t have a fancy new television to pick up the new Pro machine. A number of games – such as Rise of the Tomb Raider and Koei Tecmo’s Nioh – allow consumers to tweak their gameplay experience to have either a higher frame rate or higher resolution.

You also get a 1TB hard disk as standard and a new, updated controller.

What comes in the box?

• PlayStation 4 Pro
• New-style DualShock 4 (with the light bar at the top of the controller’s touchpad)
• Headphones and mic
• USB cable
• HDMI cable
• Power cable

What does this mean for games?

Sony confirmed last week that 39 games will be making the most of the extra processing power of the PlayStation 4 Pro, with more than 45 other releases being supported by the end of 2016.

For the console’s launch, the likes of Skyrim: Special Edition, Battlefield 1, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, FIFA 17, Mafia III, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Uncharted 4 (right) and Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor are supported. Joining them before 2016 is out are games such as Watch Dogs 2, The Last Guardian and Final Fantasy XV, while Resident Evil 7 (above), Nioh and For Honor will support new features when they launch in early 2017.

Despite its extra processing power, the Pro will not feature any exclusive games. All PS4 games have to work on both the original model and Pro.

Meanwhile, the Pro also offers graphical benefits for those lucky enough to own a PlayStation VR headset too.

Here’s the full PS4 Pro launch list:

• Battlefield 1
• Bound
• Call Of Duty: Black Ops 3
• Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
• Driveclub VR
• EA Sports FIFA 17
• Firewatch
• Helldivers
• Hitman
• Hustle Kings
• inFAMOUS First Light
• inFAMOUS Second Son
• Knack
• Mafia III
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
• NBA 2K17
• Paragon
• PlayStation VR Worlds
• Ratchet & Clank
• Rez Infinite
• RIGS Mechanized Combat League
• Rise Of The Tomb Raider
• Robinson: The Journey
• Smite
• Super Stardust Ultra
• The Elders Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited
• The Elders Scrolls Online: Skyrim Special Edition
• The Last Of Us Remastered
• The Last Of Us: Left Behind
• The Playroom VR
• Titanfall 2
• Tumble
• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
• Until Dawn: Rush of Blood
• Viking Squad
• World Of Tanks
• XCOM 2

Who is this for?

Based on Sony’s messaging, the Pro appears to aimed at the most dedicated of gamers. While the new, slimmer PlayStation 4 SKU looks to broaden out the user base with a 259 price point, the Pro is aimed at highly dedicated gamers who are willing to pay for that extra power and graphical fidelity.

Furthermore, SIE boss Andrew House says that the Pro is also designed to stop migration of gamers midway through the console generation.

Release Date: November 10th

Price: 349

Publisher: Sony

Distributor: CentreSoft

Contact: 0121 625 3388