It’s time for another set of PS5 Pro rumors and discussion, a console upgrade that Sony is allegedly making while Microsoft’s plans to potentially do the same remain a lot more nebulous, even though they did so last generation with the Xbox Series X.
Now, Sony is potentially looking to get players to upgrade their current PS5s four years after their 2020 launch, and the latest rumors put a potential release date at 2024. Some expect it to be announced at CES shortly, others think it won’t be for much longer, closer to potential release. If that fall 2024 date is accurate at all.
The specs indicate that Sony is at least trying to produce 60 fps on almost all games, and it would of course be the most powerful console on the market when it arrives, as they wouldn’t even bother with it, if not. But this time around, it feels like the PS5 Pro is even more unnecessary than the PS4 Pro was, and it’s going to be an odd release and a tough ask for an upgrade this time around.
The new Sony Playstation 4 and Playstation 4 Pro are unveiled at the Playstation Theater on ... [+] September 7, 2016 in New York. / AFP / Bryan R. Smith (Photo credit should read BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images
We still do not know exactly how many PS4 Pros were sold in relation to the 117 million reported total PS4 sales. Shuhei Yoshida said it sold more than the PS4 Slim, but that’s about all we’ve heard. But it was apparently enough for them to try to replicate the concept again.
There are some significant differences here, however:
The PS5 suffered from serious supply issues for the first two years of launch, causing many delayed purchases from consumers. So even if we are four years into the console generation instead of three like the PS4 Pro, it may still feel too soon to upgrade for many.
But on the other side of the coin, being 4 years into a console generation may make other early adopters feel like they might as well just wait for the PS6, especially if the upgrades that the console get do not seem especially game-changing, power edge aside, as it’s always a big ask to upgrade an entire console if you have one that works perfectly well already. Or if you can buy a “normal” one for much cheaper.
We are also living in an age of tremendous price inflation, and while the PS4 Pro launched at $400, the same price as the PS4 at launch, there’s no telling how much a PS5 Pro might cost. As you’ll recall it was $450 for a digital version and $500 for a disc version. Now, there is only the $450 one with an optional disc drive for $80. At minimum, it seems like the PS5 Pro would be a $500 ask, if not more, which may be off-putting.
Finally, the current PS5 generation has been a bit odd with its exclusives. Many of its biggest games like Horizon Forbidden West and God of War Ragnarok have also launched on PS4, not wanting to leave those 117 million owners behind. We have only gotten a scarce handful of PS5-only, large-scale games, the biggest of which being this year’s Spider-Man 2 and its insta-load screens. And PS5 is looking to have a relatively light 2024 in the grand scheme of things minus maybe Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. So there are few games that may feel like PS5 is going to elevate them in some way, at least currently, as that may change in the future.
I genuinely think that GTA 6 may end up being the most relevant upgrade factor here. It’s destined to be one of the biggest games of all time, barring some serious ball-dropping by Rockstar, and it’s easy to imagine many players, myself included, will want the best hardware to run the once in a generation game for the first time. And if Xbox does not get an upgrade, and the PC version isn’t out for at least a year, that will be the PS5 Pro. Though GTA is not out until some time in 2025, or beyond, if delayed.
For now, we are waiting for an official announcement, but it’s real and it’s coming, but Sony may have to justify its existence a bit better this time.
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