Sony released the PS4 Pro to temporarily bridge the growing performance gap between the consoles and desktops. Many assumed that Sony would do the same with the PS5. But, a previous report said that Sony had abandoned plans for a PS5 Pro in favor of the PS6, which might come out after 2028.
But, now, the same insider claims that Sony is working on a PS5 Pro.
Tom Henderson reports that the PS5 with a detachable disc drive that's coming out later this year is "just the beginning of new hardware coming to PlayStation users this generation."
According to unnamed sources, the PS5 Pro has a "tentative release date of late 2024" while pointing out a recent patent as a sign that it will look to "accelerate" ray tracing performance in games.
The stock situation of the PS5 has improved in recent months. Sony is confident it can sell roughly 30.5 million units of the PS5 through FY2023, which isn't an astronomical number but one that implies that Sony wants to double down on phasing out past-gen games after effectively ending the lifecycle of the PS4 last year.
Having a PS5 Pro would help convince others who were late to the PS4 party to "upgrade", especially as a vast majority of popular titles, including next year's Call of Duty, are still coming to the PS4.
In this case, Sony might view the unannounced PS5 Pro as less of a significant performance upgrade and more of a tool to get PS4 and PS4 owners to migrate to newer hardware.
If this is true, we're expecting the PS5 to start retailing for a lower price with the PS5 Pro replacing it in its current bracket. We all know Sony can afford to take the financial hit from its consoles, especially since this means it can get more users to migrate to the PlayStation platform and subscribe to PS Plus Premium/Deluxe. Sony might also be targeting dissatisfied Xbox Series S users who want to upgrade to a more powerful platform.
The PS4 Pro was reportedly so lucrative for Sony that Jim Ryan, who was still CEO of Sony Entertainment Europe, claimed that the PS4 Pro accounted for "nearly one of every five PS4s ever sold," in an interview with Glixel (via IGN) in 2017. If we assume that the PS5 Pro can post the same numbers, Sony is leaving a lot of money off the table by not at least trying it out. But, of course, without an official confirmation from Sony, we're left to speculate about which statement by Henderson is true or not.
With Sony expected to hold a PlayStation Showcase later this year, we could hear more about the new PS5 model and/or the PS5 Pro by then.
