Electronic Arts’ chief financial officer has praised the arrival of a mid-cycle refresh in the shape of PlayStation 4 Neo and Xbox Scorpio, seeing both consoles as a positive step forward for the games industry.
Speaking during the publisher giant’s Q1 financial results (via SeekingAlpha), Blake Jorgensen commented, "We’re continuing to be excited about the growth of the overall console business. And I think the plans that were announced at E3 around both Xbox and PlayStation were viewed in the industry as very positive. I think moving beyond the notion of – or jumping into the compatibility issue head-on and trying to stop the notion of having consoles that are not compatible will help the software side of the equation dramatically over time, and I think that’s a big plus."
EA CEO Andrew Wilson also chipped in on the subject:
"At a macro level, we’re excited about what Sony and Microsoft have announced," he said. "The reality for us is, again, in a networked world, liquidity of players is really, really important. And what we’ve seen over the last decade or more with respect to PC gamers is that community has continued to grow and it has grown a world where the hardware refresh cycle has been disconnected from the software refresh cycle. And what that’s meant is that irrespective of what kind of device you have within kind of a seven to 10-year timeframe, you’re able to play with a much, much bigger global community."
"What we see now with the things that have been talked about with the mid-cycle refresh is only going to enhance the size and engagement levels inside the communities,” he added.
PS4 Neo release date still to be decided, rumors point to 2016 launch
Sony announced the PS4 Neo a week prior to E3 following months of rumors, although didn’t confirm when the new system will hit stores. It also made it clear that the Neo was not powering any of its E3 demos during its press event.
Conversely, Microsoft said that the Xbox One Scorpio will be released in holiday 2017 during its E3 2016 presentation, as well as confirming plans for the release of Xbox One S.
The PS4 Neo is designed to exist alongside the regular PS4, with Sony confirming that game running on the new hardware will benefit from increased visual fidelity.
While a release date has yet to be announced, it has been suggested the PS4 Neo will arrive in stores before the end of the year. However, Michael Pachter, a well-known industry analyst, predicts the system won’t roll out until early-mid 2017.