The recent PlayStation 5 price increase might lead you to believe that the sales of the PlayStation 5 Pro will suffer. After all, the PlayStation 4 Pro only accounted for 10% of all PS4 sales. But while this could certainly still be the case, Sony does have several reasons to feel confident in the PS5, and we’re not just talking about its rumored association with Grand Theft Auto 6.
First up, the elephant in the room: the need for a more powerful console is more apparent today than ever.
Many AAA titles on current-gen systems are struggling to maintain high resolutions in performance modes, often dropping to sub-1080p levels. Even though Sony relies on near-magic trickery to get away with this, games going forward will only become more graphically intensive. Already, we’ve seen games like Star Wars Outlaws, Final Fantasy 16, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and Black Myth: Wukong push the limitations of the PS5, running at lower resolutions and sacrificing visual quality for higher and smoother framerates. Thus, there’s actually a valid reason why people would buy the PS5 Pro, regardless of its price point.
Driven by consumer demand for better performance rather than adhering to a strict timeline based on the original PS5’s launch date, Sony’s approach could pay off, especially if the PS5 Pro can deliver on the promise of ray-tracing at 60fps, a minimum requirement for many gamers.
Recent leaks also indicate that while it will maintain the overall aesthetic of the PS5 family, it will feature distinctive black stripes across its midsection, setting it apart from its siblings. The console’s rumored thicker design allows it to accommodate more powerful internal components like better cooling capabilities to match its upgraded hardware.
Promising improved resolution, and advanced features like ray-tracing and cutting-edge upscaling called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution Upscaling (PSSR)—early reports suggest that the PS5 Pro’s graphics card will deliver up to 33.5 teraflops of performance, a significant jump from the 10.28 teraflops of the standard PS5— these improvements could make the PS5 Pro the go-to console for those seeking the best possible next-gen experience, especially if it succeeds in becoming the only console capable of running AAA titles at 60 frames per second in 4K resolution.
Moreover, another intriguing rumored feature of the PS5 Pro is its custom machine-learning architecture and AI accelerator. This could open up new possibilities for a game developer to experiment with more sophisticated AI behaviors, improved physics simulations, and enhanced procedural generation techniques.
If the PS5 Pro can offer enough power to run AAA games at higher resolutions with ray tracing enabled while maintaining smooth frame rates and pave the way for the creation of better games, it could find itself an instant buy among enthusiasts willing to invest in upgraded hardware.
Developers, insiders, and hardcore fans won’t stop raving about the PS5 Pro if it can deliver on its promises, unlike what has happened and is still happening to everyone’s favorite scapegoat, the Xbox Series S.
It’s worth noting that Sony has neither confirmed nor denied that the PS5 Pro is real. It’s best to treat all information as speculative until an official announcement.
As Hideo Kojima’s not-so-hidden PS5 Pro test kit continue to go rounds online, it all feels like it’s only a matter of time before Sony confirms the PS5 Pro’s existence, price point, and overall design.
