The PS4 Pro is Not a 4K Gaming Machine
I feel like the announcement for the PS4 Pro was one of the most confusing announcements for any console since the Wii U. While I got the gist of what they were saying only after the fact by doing research it still isn't clear to most people what exactly this new console is.
A lot of the confusion has to do with the fact that this current console generation is basically behind by a generation due to the PS3 and Xbox 360 lasting way to long then the life span needed to be. So an incremental upgrade to the current gen consoles makes sense as it catches everyone up in a way that doesn't abandon everyone who had just bought the consoles brand new in the last two years.
UPSCALING
The best way to describe this new console is a 4K upscaling as the hardware isn't actually powerful enough to run games at native 4K. Even the most powerful modern PCs have a hard time rendering games in 4K at a smooth experience. Its much better than it ever was but it still isn't quite there just yet.
Upscaling is a way for them to bypass this by taking a lower resolution and sharping the pixels and making them larger. The games will look better but it won't be making the actual graphics look better. It is really only the image that is being affected not the actually processing of the graphics.
So the PS4 Pro being marketed at a 4K machine is a bit misleading seeing how most games won't be real 4K. It is however a good way for Sony to sell those 4K TV's they have stocked up that haven't been sold.
1080P 60FPS?
This is by far the most interesting aspect of the console as with new, more powerful hardware. You would assume that already existing games would run better on this new console. The PS4, while having some games run at 1080p 60fps struggles to handle games at that frame rate and resolution consistently. With the new upgrade the new console is definitely powerful enough to get games to this stable format.
The question is will the PS4 Pro take advantage of this? They have mentioned that the Pro will scale based on the resolution being output to you TV but will this improve gameplay? This is something that will be answered when the console arrives but right now not knowing is what is preventing me from buying the console.
If this ability is taken advantage of I can actually see the case being made to go out and buy one of these things even when you already have an original PS4. The majority of console owner use a 1080p screen anyway and the one thing that consoles owner do miss out on is a decent frame rate with a good looking game.
