Sony to release new PlayStation 4 with bigger hard drive

Sony next month will release a new PlayStation 4 with double the storage capacity, countering Microsoft’s recent release of a beefed-up version of rival console Xbox One.

A PS4 Ultimate Player Edition that can store as much as a terabyte of data will launch in Europe, Africa and Asia on July 15, the Japanese consumer electronics titan said Monday in a blog post.

“Offering twice the storage of the existing PS4, you’ll be able to download more of the games you love to your PS4, extend your play with more great add-on content and save and share even more of your best gaming highlights,” Sony said.

Pricing details were not disclosed.

An Xbox One console with double the memory space hit the market last week in a move timed to coincide with an Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

Beefed up memory space was expected to appeal to players who are increasingly installing games as digital downloads instead of opting for disks.

The Xbox One 1TB was available in the United States and select markets at a price of $399.

Original model Xbox One consoles with 500 gigabytes of storage remain $349, which was a $50 price cut that had been billed as temporary.

The new Xbox One also comes with an improved controller.

PS4 consoles trounced Xbox One after the new generation consoles hit the market in late 2013.

Microsoft later lowered the price and increased the focus on game play, rather than features such as streaming films, and has begun narrowing the sales gap.

Sony and Microsoft last week each showed off games heading for market in the year ahead, spotlighting content exclusive to their respective systems.

Microsoft played to the hearts of gamers with word that they will be able to switch on beloved old video games on new-generation Xbox One consoles.

The announcement of long-desired “backward compatibility” for hit video games that typically cost $60 new.

The ability of people to re-play previous generation Xbox games that they enjoyed promised to be a hit with gamers who have lamented that upgrading to new hardware, historically, has come with leaving behind old titles that don’t work on new consoles.

Microsoft promised that more than 100 titles would be available by year’s end in a library of games with backward compatibility.