• The PS4 virtual reality 'Project Morpheus' is displayed during the Annual Gaming Industry Conference E3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center on June 16, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.

The PS4 virtual reality 'Project Morpheus' is displayed during the Annual Gaming Industry Conference E3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center on June 16, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo : Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

With Microsoft filing for two projects for upgraded Xbox One consoles with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), its rival Sony cannot be far behind in offering an improved PlayStation 4. According to latest reports, Sony is currently working on developing a new game console, which is being called PlayStation NEO.

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While the Japanese multinational consumer electronics product manufacturer is yet to make any official announcement in this regard, it is expected that the PlayStation NEO will cost about $399 and is likely to be shipped from this October. Compared to the existing PlayStation 4, the purported PlayStation NEO or PlayStation 4.5 is expected to come with several upgraded specs and features, Giantbomb reported.

As far as the specs of the PlayStation NEO are concerned, there are rumors that the device will come with an advanced CPU, GPU together with an improved internal memory bandwidth. The common belief is that Sony plans to launch the PlayStation NEO, with a view to introduce its PS Virtual Reality and also to deliver interesting video games that can be played at 4K resolution. Since Sony is yet to confirm these, at this stage they are mere speculations.

Interestingly enough, Sony has emphasized that that henceforth all PS4 games will be shipped in a basic PS4 version, in addition to a PlayStation NEO setup. If this is true, Sony will also be releasing some titles that will be exclusively playable on the PlayStation NEO, iDigital Times reported.

Contrary to the belief in some quarters, PlayStation NEO is not an entirely new console version nor will it replace the PlayStation 4. On the other hand, with the launch of PlayStation NEO, Sony plans to develop an environment that will allow the present PS4 gamers to simultaneously play NEO adopters. Precisely speaking, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation NEO will both cater to the same online community and members of this community will have access to the same titles that will be available on the PSN store. What is more exciting is that gamers using PS4 will also be able to transfer all their digital purchases to PlayStation NEO.

In terms of the VR feature, some reports hint that the shared online play for the basic PlayStation 4, as well as PlayStation NEO, also denotes that both these Sony platforms will be receiving equivalent peripheral support, including virtual reality. As of now, there is no possibility of PlayStation that NEO having exclusive VR games.

Watch the video on "PlayStation NEO confirmed - specs and details" below: