"High-Power" PS4 Model Something Sony Might Consider, Exec Says

Sony might consider offering a "high-performance" model of the PlayStation 4, a system that the company has already repeatedly referred to as the "world's most powerful console." That's according to Sony Computer Entertainment senior vice president Masayasu Ito, who was asked for his thoughts in a new interview about offering a new PS4 model with better performance sometime down the road.

Speaking with Japanese gaming publication 4Gamer, as translated by DualShockers, Ito said because the PS4 uses X86 architecture (unlike the PlayStation 3's Cell processor), improvements to performance can be made over time. However, Ito stressed that Sony has no immediate plans to introduce a technically superior PS4 model; he also explained that the bigger question is if Sony would actually want to do this at all.

Offering a beefier PS4 model would conceivably split the PS4 audience, which doesn't sound like something Sony would want to do at this stage with the PS4 enjoying such strong sales and momentum. Whether or not Sony would have some solution to fracturing its audience remains to be seen. It's also important to note that Ito was speaking hypothetically after he was asked a direct question. Still, he said releasing a higher-power PS4 model alongside the existing one is an idea that "might be considered."

Consoles do not typically receive major updates of this nature. Revisions historically come in the form of things like better energy use and smaller overall form factor, while technical performance usually remains locked from the start of the console generation to the end.

There is some precedent, however, in the portable gaming world. In 2014, Nintendo released a New Nintendo 3DS model with improved CPU performance that it sells alongside the regular model. This beefed-up system plays all Nintendo 3DS games and many from the Nintendo DS and DSi libraries; some games, however, are playable only on the New Nintendo 3DS, as they leverage its increased power.