It will depend on the “thinking” of each licensee
[Update: Sony has clarified to Polygon that it won’t charge for patches, but did not provide further details. We’ve reached out to Sony for more information.]
The news keeps rolling in about the features of the PS4 Pro and what it will and won’t do. Sadly, it looks like the benefits of HDR may be locked behind a small upgrade fee for certain games. Kotaku has translated an interview done with a Sony executive and his words paint a dire picture.
Sony Interactive Entertainment executive Masayasu Ito stated, in an interview with Game Impress Watch, “It will be different for each title. I believe it will fall on the thinking of each licensee.” Don’t let Ubisoft hear those words.
The interviewer then explicitly asked whether some titles would be seeing free upgrades and others would go the paid route. Ito responded with, “That is correct.” While this may be a case of mistranslation and Ito’s words may be out of context, news that one of the features of the “new” console will require even more monetary investment isn’t great.
Sony’s live stream event did not really clear up much about the differences between the PS4 Pro and the regular model. Now, one of the main benefits of the system is also going to fall on whether or not a developer feels generous enough to provide a free update.
I can at least understand, from a business perspective, that not every developer should be forced to update their older titles. Still, Sony made it seem like all older games would be updated for free, deftly omitting details of any kind of cost to the consumer.
I’m sure these patches won’t be required by Sony, but this still kind of shoots their “new” console in the foot. If you end up buying a PS4 Pro to see some kind of graphical improvement, I guess you’re going to be left disappointed.
Sony Says Some 4K HDR Game Patches Could Cost Money, Though It’s Not Clear Who Would Pay [Kotaku]
