Why the PS5 Pro doesn't make sense right now
Why the PS5 Pro doesn't make sense right now
Sony's PlayStation 5 Pro has limited appeal, even for hardcore fans
🔜 The PS5 Pro is expected to be announced in September
🎮 It’ll make games run and look better than before
🤷♂️ But it won’t offer anything genuinely new and demand seems to be low
💰 The console is the very definition of a luxury purchase
Sony is expected to reveal a souped-up, more powerful PS5 Pro console next month, but enthusiasm for the new system seems almost non-existent among PlayStation fans.
Unlike the PS4 Pro, which delivered 4K gaming and was designed to appeal to a market flooded with 4K displays, the PS5 Pro has no such selling point. It isn’t bringing anything new to the table or addressing a genuine need.
Developers have reportedly said the same thing. At the Game Developers Conference (GDC), GamesIndustry.biz’s Chris Dring said: “I didn’t meet a single person that understood the point in it. Developers didn’t really seem to feel they needed it, at least the ones I spoke to.”
Dring also said developers felt they “weren’t really making the most of PS5 in the first place” and that a PS5 Pro “isn’t going to grow the market”.
And that’s a fair assessment. For the first two years, barely anyone could get their hands on Sony’s new console because of supply issues, which led to the feeling the generation took longer to get going.
Countless studios were affected by the pandemic, too, leading to delays and longer development cycles – a hangover still present today. Even Sony has failed to deliver a steady cadence of first-party titles, relying instead on remasters and remakes to fill in the gaps and third-party timed exclusivity deals.
I doubt many people are crying out for a PS5 Pro.
Releasing a more powerful PS5 when the games aren’t really flowing and with people picking up the console later than usual seems premature, and it’s hardly like the vast majority of PlayStation 5 games are struggling from a technical perspective either.
This generation has delivered 60fps for most titles and plenty of 120fps PS5 games. Yes, ray tracing has been used sparingly, but it remains a luxury feature that's always felt nice to have but never essential. I doubt many people are crying out for a PS5 Pro because they want slightly more realistic lighting and reflections in their games – though I might be wrong.
Who is the PS5 Pro for?
Sony will have to convince consumers to pay more for a console that runs the best PS5 games slightly better, then, because it can’t promise a four-times increase in resolution like with the PS4 Pro, or even a monumental leap in performance. Instead, it will have to meticulously show how the the PS5 Pro can make games look a little prettier, run a little smoother, and possibly include ray tracing effects.
By some small chance the console can hit 8K resolution in games, but that also won’t be a selling point as 8K TVs haven’t penetrated the market like 4K sets.
But is that enough to get consumers to part ways with potentially $599? Not for me. It also doesn’t help that Sony’s games are now on PC, which wasn’t the case when PS4 Pro was released.
The PS5 has also proven to be more than capable, often superior, to Microsoft’s Xbox Series X.
Funnily enough, there’s no competition pushing Sony to release a PS5 Pro. Microsoft has all but ruled out releasing a more capable, mid-gen console, and the Nintendo Switch 2 won’t come close to the graphical power of the existing PlayStation 5.
The PS5 has also proven to be more than capable, often superior, to Microsoft’s Xbox Series X in head-to-head comparisons. Again it begs the question: who is the PS5 Pro for?
Well, it’s for Sony and its shareholders. PS5 hardware sales are in a slump but a new console release will help address that. The PS5 Pro could also boost software sales as free upgrades and ‘PS5 Pro Enhanced’ versions of games arrive, encouraging players to pick up new titles or revisit their existing library.
A luxury purchase
But even then, the console still feels unnecessary and is unlikely to move the needle significantly. Yes, there will always be a small target audience that wants the very best experience (though you could argue that’s found on PC), but it seems like Sony is forcing the PS5 Pro on people rather than there being a natural demand.
The release of GTA 6 seems like the one game that could change that, especially if Rockstar’s title runs poorly on the PS5. But that’s over a year away and could slip to 2026.
We should find out soon enough whether the PlayStation 5 Pro is something gamers want, as it could be announced at the Tokyo Game Show. PS5 Pro pre-orders should also go live next month, with a release date of November widely expected.
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.