The next iteration of Sony's PlayStation gaming and media console may support the "ultra-definition" resolution known as 4K. This according to an unnamed source, who tells BGR that the feature would figure into a larger push on Sony's part to sell the 4K spec to the wider public. The technology isn't yet priced to be competitive in the consumer electronics sector, and indeed the PlayStation 4 has yet to be announced, but the rumor does conform to Sony's previous actions in popularizing a technology.
The 4K resolution, largely reserved for some cinemas and a few televisions, outputs images said to be four times sharper than what is possible with the 1080p HD standard. Owners of 4K-capable devices have very few options for ultra-definition content: YouTube supports the 4K standard but has few videos in it, and some Sony Blu-ray players can upscale to 4K but no Blu-ray discs hold 4K content.
The move would be in keeping with previous efforts by Sony to use its PlayStation console to push new technologies; the company used the PlayStation 3 as a means to grow market share for its Blu-ray DVD format, which eventually won out over the HD-DVD standard. Similarly, the PlayStation 2 was among the more affordable DVD players on the market, helping to popularize that medium. The 4K standard, then, would likely serve to sell more 4K Sony televisions and other displays, in effect picking up where 3D failed to gain steam.
The PlayStation 4 has yet to be announced by Sony, though some expect the company will unveil the device at next year's E3. Beyond 4K, the device is also said to feature a new quad-core 3.2GHz AMD Fusion APU, 2GB RAM, and a Radeon HD 7900-series graphics processor capable of over 1800 GFLOPS at 800MHz.
