With all this PS4k / PS4.5 talk, everyone is divided on if they really want a piece of new hardware or not.

But here's a thought, what if this wasn't a new piece of hardware, but rather software?

What if developers have been given upgraded PS4 specs to work with and improved versions will be able to be played by users via PS Now?

You can still buy this disc for the standard PS4 game, but you can stream a higher quality version through PS Now.  Having played PS Now, I can say that it work very well.  We also know that PS4 can output in 4K for things like videos on a USB stick and 4k photos, and services like Netflix can stream videos in 4k.

So maybe Sony are not making new user-end hardware, but new hardware at their server end which will allow for improved games.  What do you all think of that?

no, things don't work that way

But splitting a user base with different hardware does?

So making people feel they have an inferior hardware in a market that has always been about uniform setups makes more sense?

A PS Now soloution gets rid of both those problems, unless you have a decent argument you can provide with your statement, your post adds nothing.

that sounds horrible

Why so bad?

One machine, no split user base, and you can still have the higher powered games.

The other way is far worse.

Different machines, fractured user base, confusion with the general public over what will play what.  That is a path that could lead to huge disaster in console gaming.

i like to own my games and not worry about my internet connection

I worry that different hardware specs will lead us down a road that crashes the console market.  And you didn't read what I wrote.

own the disc to play the ps4 version, but gain access to a ps4.5 version via PS Now.

I'm not Sony so I don't know exactly what their course of action will be, all I know is that in the event that the rumors have some standing, it seems to me like releasing a 'premium' version of the console with the new APU's from AMD in 14nm would make sense.

New APU means lower cost for a higher performance in a similar enough architecture.

possible advantages:

higher performance (for VR especially) at a reduced cost

giving a reason for people that want bleeding edge tech to upgrade (like I would for sure)

remaining competitive with the PC space, considering the new tech hitting PC this year

possible disadvantages:

fragmenting the market - make sure all the games are playable in both console versions

whiners online - give a possibility to trade up to the new model at a reduced cost

futureproofing:

make playstation a console platform that retains the same model, making sure whenever the PS5 comes up everyone will be able to play the games they own from the previous generation, much in the same way I can play pc games from the 90's 00's on my current pc.

This is what I think they should or are more likely to do. There's absolutely no chance the idea of 'cloud' computing improving the console capabilities is what they refer. We've been through this with the Xbox 1 since it was announced.

There is no reason sony needs to release a a PS4.5 . It is selling more than any other console in the history and no one can stop that. It is superior (graphically) compared to the Xbox One and even the PS VR will sell very well (Depending on the news of the last few weeks).

I think they are planing a new modell  only(Slim ?)

A cloud support (A software that streams your games) is a kill for the games. Imagine the case where two players are playing an online FPS (say battlefield). The one playing the game running on the console will have a lower latency than the one on the cloud.

You totally have missed what I said by a mile.

The way PS Now works is by having certain hardware at Sonys end that does the actual work.  In the current case, they have PS3 hardware running games, that is then streamed to your PS4.  This is how you are able to play PS3 games on your PS4.  The PS4 does almost no work and acts pretty much as solely as a reciver.

In this case, the hardware wouldn't be a PS3, but the supposed PS4.5.

If you thought PS Now was cloud computing like what Xbox was talking about, how did you think it worked on Braiva TV's?