Microsoft Xbox One Going To 4K With Release Date at E3 2016, but the Sony PlayStation 4 (PS4) Not Yet

Jun 13, 2016 09:38 AM EDT

The saddest part of video game consoles today is that they are not capable of 4K quality video for gameplay.  One would think that Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4 (PS4) would have that feature available to them now, being that 4K TVs are all the rage.  This looks like that it will change, and it actually looks like Microsoft's Xbox is actually going to be the first to receive this at E3 2016.  Considering all of the rumors of the PlayStation 4.5 or PlayStation 4K, this comes as quite a surprise. 

According to Engadget, Microsoft is planning on launching a smaller, more powerful Xbox one, at E3 2016.  For those of you who aren't too familiar with video games, E3 is the Electronic Entertainment Expo, and it happens at the Los Angeles Convention Center every year.  This year, it will happen on June 14-16, and announcements are being made on Monday, with a full list of announcements being able to be found here

There are apparent multiple images on NeoGAF, which is a huge leak place for video games.  This could be the Xbox One S, and it has a 40 percent cut in size, and it will support both 4K video and High Dynamic Range content.  It looks like it will have a vertical stand, a 2 TB hard drive, as well as a "streamlined controller". 

The thing that we don't know is the price, but the 500 GB model for the current Xbox One is about $299.  It is possible that the release date and price will be announced on Monday morning at 9:30 AM, which might have already happened by the time of this printing. 

As for the Sony PlayStation 4 with 4K capability, that doesn't look like it will be showing up at E3 2016.  This is according to a separate article from Engadget, as Sony executive Andrew House has confirmed a more powerful PlayStation 4 codenamed Neo.  House is the president and global chief executive of Sony Interactive, and he says that this new PS4, codenamed "Neo," will be sold alongside the existing PS4. 

This PlayStation Neo will have the same ability as the supposed new Xbox One with the 4K resolution.  All of the PS4 games will be compatible with this system.  In the interview with Andrew House, he did not mention anything like a release date, a price, or even a day that the system will be officially announced.  We know for sure that it won't be at E3 2016.