Guess who had a really bad day today? That’s right: between Sony’s press conference, and Apple’s iPhone 7 announcement, Microsoft must be fuming. Bill Gates may be a genius, but even he can’t stand the power of his competitors at times.

The Sony Press Conference went off with one hilarious microphone issue and some fantastically good news for developers and players alike. It seems the entire gaming industry is being revolutionized with the simple announcement of one company. Take that Microsoft! Sorry, not sorry.

The following is a collection of the highlights from the conference, including the content everyone is raving about and its drawback. Because everything has a drawback, right?

PS4 Slim

Source: PlayStation.com

Source: PlayStation.com

Oh boy, we didn’t see this one coming at all. This slimmer model of the PS4 is coming to stores soon, on September 15th in most markets. It will look sleeker and boast several upgraded features which have been leaked online for the past month or so. People have even been unboxing them after purchasing them off eBay! It should come as no surprise, since nothing is sacred these days. Just ask Hello Games.

Priced at $299, this model will only be matched, if not beaten out by . . .

PS4 Pro

Yes, this is a replacement model. The images leaked online were correct after all.  And yes, all PS4’s are now outdated hardware. Pony up, people. While every PS4 up until this point will end up supporting HDR, it’s . . . still not the same as this.

Source: PlayStation.com

Source: PlayStation.com

This upgraded tier of console will feature double the GPU power, a boosted clock rate, interoperability, a 1-TB HDD, as well as HDTV, HDR, 4K, and VR compatibility. It will also be running AMD’s new Polaris graphics feature.

Launching on November 10th, PS4 Pro will be available for $399, just in time for the holiday season, making for some very happy players and developers.

What Does This Mean For Developers?

Character details, brightness of color, and realistic effects are all elements you can now include in your games going forward. Developers are always looking for ways to enhance gameplay, and now you can to a whole new level.

Tailoring games to fit each kind of TV will be possible. Boosted density of the scenes, increased shadows, and better shading can all be expected. All this, and patches for forward compatibility, means that games will be easier on the eyes, even older games.

Meanwhile, on VR, you can expect increased crispness and a higher frame rate. Yes, something that already made players feel like they were in the game just got better.

What Does This Mean For Players?

Visuals will be increased, speed will be ramped up, and gaming will provide so much more joy that they won’t care about their daily troubles as much. If at all, that is.

For the last few years, developers have been diving into effects and visuals that haven’t been able to be displayed. In essence, developers have had to dumb things down in time for launch. With these upgrades, developers get to showcase their hard work, bringing players the experiences of a lifetime.

The PS4 Pro is allowing 4K TVs to finally deliver those fantastic images, which makes a world of difference. Up until this point, developers had to deal with 1080p. The pixels were only so large. It was a bit like rendering as high a quality as possible, but in a low setting.

With PS4 Pro, the visuals are unleashed, providing the quality and excitement that all players deserve. What is seen in nature is what is seen on the screen. Bushes move realistically in the wind. Sunlight is bright enough to make players squint. Trees trunks are textured and elaborate.

Are There Any Drawbacks?

Already, less than an hour after the conference, there is quite a bit of backlash from players, however. Even though the visuals are enhanced, and the hardware is upgraded, 4K blu-ray playback is not compatible with this model.

Project Scorpio is. Score one for Microsoft.

Blu-ray discs that have been created with 4k in mind will not be playable on the new Sony console. There is no official explanation from Sony regarding this.

Takeaways

There are many changes coming thanks to Sony. In a matter of days, our beloved PS4’s that have been with us for a while now will be shelved, giving way for something far, far better. This is the mark of a new generation, a new experience, and enhanced gaming. This is a major moment in the gaming industry.

For those looking to pre-order—and you should—GameStop is the first to market. Best Buy and Amazon have not begun offering pre-order options just yet. Beware, there will be a lot of craziness over the next few months, with players upgrading hardware. This holiday season will be an exciting one.