The E3 gaming conference is still two weeks out, but some console-related news is already leaking. It looks like both Microsoft and Sony have upgrade plans for their consoles that we assume will be announced during E3, which begins in Los Angeles on June 16.
Sony’s new Playstation 4 models currently filed with the FCC.
First up is Sony, which may soon release a PlayStation 4 console packing a 1TB hard drive; the largest version of the PS4 right now is 500GB.
Sony filings with the Federal Communications Commission recently popped up online showing two new PS4 models: CUH-1215A and CUH-1215B, with the latter being the 1TB model.
Other than storage there’s not a whole lot else that can be gleaned from the FCC filings. It appears these models are a little more power efficient and slightly lighter than current models, as first noted by DualShockers.
Sony has said before it planned on releasing a 1TB model and DIY types have already been able to swap hard drives for larger capacities themselves. But anyone looking for an out-of-the-box solution will be glad to see a larger capacity HDD for all those game downloads.
Jacked up controller
Microsoft’s rumored Xbox One controller with a headphone jack.
Meanwhile, in Xbox land, Engadget spotted a new Xbox One bundle called the Independent Developers Pack in the Australian version of the Microsoft store. For $500 Aussie bucks you get a Kinect-less 500GB Xbox One console, download tokens for five games from indie developers, plus in-game content downloads for two games.
On top of that, the pack has the recently rumored Xbox One wireless controller with a headphone jack. Microsoft has since removed that listing (you can still see it in Google’s cache), but we’d bet the headphone-enabled Xbox One controller will make a reappearance during E3. It’s entirely possible this bundle won’t make it stateside, but at the very least we expect to see the new controller.
The impact on you at home: If you’re thinking about picking up a new console, you should wait until we see what’s coming at E3. The conference should be mostly about new games, but Microsoft and Sony will likely announce these console tweaks as well. We don’t know when the console upgrades will roll out, but since Sony’s documentation is with the FCC and Microsoft’s new controller is popping up outside the US it’s a good bet this stuff will hit store shelves before the month is out.
Be sure to check out PCWorld’s E3 coverage starting June 14. At this year’s show we expect to see a whole lot of VR with Oculus Rift leading the pack, and E3 is finally giving PC gaming its due.