There were few complaints when Sony announced that the PlayStation 4 would ship with a 500 gigabyte hard drive. That's a pretty hefty drive, and even with games getting bigger and bigger, most users should be fine with the PlayStation 4's default storage space. It's one of those things that people may worry about when making a purchase, but after that, it never comes up again.
Even so, Sony went the extra mile: the PS4 can be upgraded with external hard drives for added storage. It's a nice little touch for gamers who want some extra room to breathe, and considering Microsoft's Xbox One can't be upgraded in any way, it's another selling point for Sony's machine. Unfortunately, there is one huge caveat: the PlayStation 4 only reads 2.5 inch hard drives by default.
For the uninitiated, 2.5 inch hard drives are typically used in laptops, and can get very expensive as they get bigger. Basically, it makes upgrading the PS4's storage space more expensive than it's worth. Thankfully, Nyko has found a way around that problem, and it's called the Databank.
Essentially, the Databank acts like an adapter: the add-on plugs into the PS4 hardware, and allows the console to read 3.5 inch hard drives. That way, instead of paying far more for the 2.5 inch drives, gamers can simply plug a standard desktop hard drive into the Databank and use that. It makes a lot of sense. Even though it requires another peripheral, 3.5 inch drives are much cheaper than the 2.5 inch drives, and are typically easier to find in larger sizes. It makes the whole process of upgrading the drive that much more accessible.
In layman's terms, the Databank plugs into the PlayStation 4, the hard drive plugs into the Databank and the whole process is far cheaper than it would have been without the Databank add-on.
So far, Nyko has yet to announce a price for the Databank; if the price stays in line with other Nyko products, the adapter will likely sell for roughly $40. While it's possible that Nyko may decide to include a basic hard drive with the Databank, the company has yet to do so - if Nyko does end up creating some sort of bundle, adding additional hardware to the Databank would inevitably hike up the cost.
When it comes down to it, most PlayStation users will never have to worry about the Databank. For advanced users, however, the Databank could be a huge blessing: it drastically cuts the price of upgrading the PS4 while simultaneously making the process more accessible.
It's one of those win-win situations.
The Nyko Databank is scheduled for released sometime in early 2015.
