Powerful “boost mode” for old games hidden in latest PlayStation 4 update

By Michael Rougeau February 3, 2017

ps4 pro boost mode update sony playstation 4 0005 800x533 c — Image used with permission by copyright holder

It wasn’t on Sony’s official list of new features for the PlayStation 4’s version 4.50 update, but the console just got a new “boost mode,” along with other additions. The PS4 boost mode is designed to help older games run better on the newest and most powerful PS4 hardware, the PS4 Pro.

Users who have access to the 4.50 beta and a PS4 Pro can check the new feature out in their console’s settings menu under the new “boost mode,” which has been confirmed. A Sony spokesperson provided a statement on its function to The Verge.

Boost mode “lets PS4 Pro run at a higher GPU and CPU clock speed in order to improve gameplay on some PS4 games that were released before the launch of PS4 Pro … Games that have a variable frame rate may benefit from a higher frame rate, and load times may be shorter in some games too,” Sony explained.

The boost mode isn’t perfect. Apparently, it can cause some “unexpected behavior,” and it won’t affect all old PS4 games equally (or at all). Meanwhile users are congregating on sites like neoGAF to test the feature out. One early YouTube video claimed Just Cause 3, an open world action game released in 2015, benefits so much from boost mode that it “seems like a whole new game.”

The 4.50 update also includes support for external hard drives, custom home screen backgrounds, the option to manually post to the PlayStation Network activity feed, 3D movie support in PlayStation VR, and improvements to the quick menu accessed by holding the PlayStation button on the PS4 controller. The update is available now to users signed up for the PS4 beta program (which is closed to new users unfortunately), and will roll out to all PS4 users at a later date.

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Michael Rougeau

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Mike Rougeau is a journalist and writer who lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and two dogs. He specializes in video…

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PlayStation Plus is getting a major price hike following Game Pass changes

PlayStation Plus art highlighting the essential, extra, and premium tiers.

Sony confirmed that 12-month subscriptions for PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, and Premium will all see price increases alongside the reveal of September's new Essential games on the PlayStation Blog.
Starting on September 6, 12 months of PS Plus Essential goes up in price from $60 to $80, PS Plus Extra's yearly price increases from $100 to $135, and an annual subscription to PS Plus Premium will rise from $120 to $160.

Sony says it needs to increase the price of all three versions of PlayStation Plus "to continue bringing high-quality games and value-added benefits to your PlayStation Plus subscription service" and that buying a 12-month subscription is still cheaper than subscribing to any of the shorter-term plans over the same period of time. The price hikes comes just a couple of months after Microsoft raised the price of Xbox Game Pass.
When it comes to the games PS Plus Essential subscribers can expect this month, first up is Saints Row, a 2022 reboot of an open-world crime franchise that garnered mixed reviews upon its release. Next is Generation Zero, an open-world sci-fi shooter where players fight evil machines. Finally, those who have not already purchased a version of the MMO Black Desert on PS4 can redeem Black Desert - Traveler Edition, which comes with some additional items; if you have bought a version of Black Desert, you can just redeem the Traveler Item Pack.

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A PlayStation Portal boots up.

Sony finally revealed more details about its upcoming handheld, now called PlayStation Portal, but these announcements have soured my opinion on the device rather than hyped me up for it. I enjoy cloud gaming and have used a variety of services like Google Stadia, Amazon Luna, and Xbox Cloud Gaming - across my phone and even dedicated devices like the Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld. Because of that, I was really excited to see what PlayStation could do as it entered the space. Unfortunately, some specific exclusions from PlayStation Portal's functionality that make it more of a remote-play device rather than a cloud gaming handheld indicate that Sony has a fundamental misunderstanding about what people would want out of a PlayStation game streaming handheld.

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Narrowing its appeal
Remote play differs from what's more ubiquitously referred to as cloud gaming players are running the games on their own consoles rather than a third-party console or server. Still, it's a form of streaming games over a Wi-Fi connection, typically through an app on a phone or device like the Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld. That means you'll have to stick around your own home to use the PlayStation Portal, and its game library is limited to whatever the user owns on the console. That's limiting (it's like if Steam Deck only ran Steam Link) but does have some use cases. Still, it doesn't necessarily feel like it warrants a dedicated $200 device over a phone and a nice mobile controller like the Razer Kishi V2 or Backbone One - PlayStation Edition; haptic feedback and adaptive triggers only go so far.

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Astro's Playroom booting up on the PlayStation Portal.

Sony has unveiled the price for its upcoming cloud gaming handheld, as well as an official name for the device: PlayStation Portal. However, one significant caveat to its functionality might sour people's interest in the handheld: It only supports PS4 and PS5 native games that the owner purchased.
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