PlayStation boss 'surprised' by Xbox Scorpio announcement

Andrew House says PlayStation 4 Neo console isn’t ready to show off yet and Sony will wait until there is enough content to illustrate its benefits

Sony will not show the updated PlayStation 4 Neo console until there is enough content available to illustrate the benefits of the machine, PlayStation boss Andrew House has stated.

Speaking at the E3 video games conference in Los Angeles, the president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment also expressed surprise that Microsoft had announced its Project Scorpio hardware over a year before launch.

“The point of confirming the existence of PlayStation 4 Neo and the bare bones of the plan last week was about not disappointing the fan base who would obviously come to E3 with high expectations of all kinds of announcements,” he said. “And from past experience, the worst thing you can do is disappoint and pull the rug away from people. That’s why we went out last week and said, yes, it does exist but don’t expect to see it at E3. I think it was the right thing to do.”

It’s been known for a while that both Sony and Microsoft were considering updating their current generation consoles in the middle of the traditional lifecycle of seven to eight years. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were launched in 2013, a little early to take in the arrival of 4K televisions, as well as innovations like virtual reality.

Therefore, rumours started a year ago that we’d see interim updates of the machines, complete with more powerful graphics processing capabilities – In early June, House confirmed the existence of an updated PlayStation 4 Neo console which will offer greater power for 4K-compatible games and advanced virtual experiences via the forthcoming PlayStation VR headset, but stated that it wouldn’t be at E3.

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