PS4 Neo is real, but won't be at E3 2016

Sony says it will only reveal the PS4 Neo when it can showcase the new hardware and accompanying software "in their entirety"

Sony has confirmed that its PlayStation 4 hardware refresh is real, but it won't be at E3 2016.

Rumours of the new hardware have circulated for months, and have been considered an open secret ahead of an official reveal that had widely been expected to occur at this year's E3, set to take place in Los Angeles next week.

However, Andrew House, president and global CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, has told the Financial Times that while the console is real, it won't be part of Sony's E3 presence.

"We want to ensure we have a full range of the best experiences on the new system that we can showcase in their entirety," House said.

Codenamed PS4 Neo - though colloquially referred to as PS4K and PS4.5 - the upgraded PlayStation will support ultra high definition output and have a power boost to better support the upcoming PlayStation VR headset. Despite House's open discussion of the PS4 Neo's existence, exact specifications have yet to be revealed.

However, the PS4 Neo won't replace the existing model. Without revealing a launch price, House says it will be more expensive than the PlayStation 4 models currently on sale, but that Neo "is intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4."

Both versions of the PS4 will continue to be sold "through the life cycle" of the current console generation, clearly painting the PS4 Neo as a high-end alternative to the base console.

Future games won't require the newer machine though. House adds that "all games will support the standard PS4 and we anticipate all or a very large majority of games will also support the high-end PS4." That's good news for developers too, with House promising a "seamless" transition to creating games for the enhanced hardware.

House also says the PS4 Neo won't be sold at a loss. Traditionally, console manufacturers have seen the hardware as loss leaders, making their real profits from games sales. The PS4 bucked that trend for Sony, especially compared to the astronomically expensive PS3 at its own launch, and House says the Neo will be "standalone profitable at the time that we launch it."

With an E3 2016 debut now officially ruled out - expect Sony to instead focus at least part of its conference on its wider media announcements, such as internet TV service PlayStation Vue - the next major platform for the PS4 Neo to be formally revealed will be Gamescom 2016, held in Cologne, Germany in August.

With E3 2016 vacant of big hardware announcments from Sony, attention will no doubt turn to Microsoft, which is rumoured to have its own plans for an upgraded Xbox One codenamed Scorpio. If proven true, PS4 Neo's absence could give Microsoft an open goal to win over audiences with an improved console.

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