PlayStation 4 to get 1-terabyte treatment in July
The new console, doubling the storage of the current model, will follow a 1TB version of Microsoft's Xbox One arriving this month.
Sony has confirmed that it will offer a 1-terabyte edition of its PlayStation 4.
The new 1TB PS4 Ultimate Player Edition will launch in select European and PAL territories -- including Australia -- starting July 15, Sony said in a blog post published Monday. PAL is the video standard used across most of the world, with the exception of North and South America, which use a standard known as NTSC. Sony didn't reveal when the 1TB PlayStation 4 would debut in the US or other non-PAL regions.
The new model will cost £350 in the UK, Sony announced in July, which converts to around $540 or AU$730.
Offering double the storage capacity of the current PS4, the terabyte edition will closely follow the June launch of a 1TB edition of Microsoft's Xbox One. Both consoles come as both digital and disc-based games are getting larger, which means hard-core gamers who have a huge collection of titles can more easily run out of space.
The PS4 has been clobbering the Xbox One in sales. However, at last week's Electronic Entertainment Expo, the video game industry's biggest conference, Microsoft announced several new features designed to attract more users, including a lineup of new games, the Xbox Elite Wireless controller and the ability to finally play Xbox 360 titles on the Xbox One.
Sony, meanwhile, is also launching a new model of the 500GB PS4 starting the end of this month. Initially rolling out in Japan and then other Asian countries as well as North America and Europe, this PS4 will weigh 10 percent less than the current edition and consume 8 percent less power. The new 500GB edition will sell in the US for $399.
Why a new edition of the 500GB PS4?
"We introduced the new system to further accelerate the expansion of the PS4 platform," a Sony spokeswoman said in an email. "We continuously refine individual PlayStation platforms so that users can continue to enjoy the same features on new models, and we recognize the importance of reducing environmental impact when developing and manufacturing our products."
Available in either jet black or glacier white, the new version will have a matte finish, which Sony says will give it a "more casual look." The company is also promising a new lineup of titles from its own game publishing studio as well as popular third-party developers. New titles due to hit the market include Capcom's Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi and Konami's Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Sony will kick in such games as God Of War III Remastered, Until Dawn and The Tomorrow Children.
Editor's note July 7: Added UK pricing.