PS5 Pro And Other Midgenerational Upgrades

[StarMan]

When I got the PS5 at release, I initially planned to sell it off for the Pro, then when it came time to buy the PS6, get more $$$ selling the PS5 Pro.

However, as I have got into gaming a lot deeper this generation and having increased exposure to the fidelity and performance of PC gaming via YouTube (take Cyberpunk 2077 on a high-end PC v. console - good grief!), I've been favoring the switch to PC.

The exchange rate will push this past $1000 for me. And they promise "almost fidelity" at 60FPS. And no disk drive. Nah, I think I'm done. The PS5 gaming catalogue doesn't justify it either. I'd rather put that money towards a solid gaming rig.

 

[Owain Taggart]

If it's anything like the PS5 Slim, it would come with little plastic feet that fit into the groove right where the 3 black lines are, to put the console horizontally. But what's really annoying about the marketing, and something they've done with the PS5 Slim as well, was marketing it as sitting vertically when that's not the default sitting position for these models. They've neglected to mention that if you want to set it vertically, you have to buy the vertical stand.

And Btw, it releases on November 24th, exactly one year to the release of the PS5 Slim.

 

[FlyingLemons]

The other thing to note is now that consoles are effectively locked down PCs. The "custom" hardware in them is "custom" in the same way that in a Steam Deck is, except on a Steam Deck you can change the OS.

If you have a PC, that $700 can probably be safely spent on an upgrade that will get you most of what the PS5 can do, if not better. The graphics technology in a GeForce 4070 Super card is far beyond a PS5 Pro, for instance.

The configuration issue is still there as consoles come preconfigured and PCs require a lot of fiddling, but it wouldn't surprise me if Microsoft just addressed that issue for the next Xbox, which would change everything.

 

[Rincewiend]

It's just too much for too little. And you're right; with MS having capitulated, there's no real competition, which is why I think we've seen prices not improve this gen. Honestly, I think the best thing that could happen would be if people didn't buy the PS5 Pro, which would send a message to Sony that it's a ridiculous proposition. But that's probably unlikely to happen. But I honestly wonder just how much of a market Sony thinks it has for the PS5 Pro.

Nearly $1000 CND for the PS5 Pro, which it will be after taxes.

Apparently Ps4 Pro only accounts for 15% of PS4 sales...
It is for a really niche audience...

 

[Haggis and tatties]

^^Now that is low, and which begs the question if it was that low why did Sony do it again?

 

[BillJ]

Apparently Ps4 Pro only accounts for 15% of PS4 sales...
It is for a really niche audience...

117.4 million PS4’s sold. So, the Pro sold 20 million units. Not shabby.

^^Now that is low, and which begs the question if it was that low why did Sony do it again?

Keep the name in the news.

 

[HotRod]

I'll get one when GTA6 comes out, which I don't expect to happen till 2026. I can wait.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Apparently Ps4 Pro only accounts for 15% of PS4 sales...
It is for a really niche audience...

Yeah, I guess that is really niche! Still, at that point, there was an actual reason for it, adding things to the console that had come to TVs since the PS4 came out. The difference now is that the changes are so minor as to be inconsequential.

The configuration issue is still there as consoles come preconfigured and PCs require a lot of fiddling, but it wouldn't surprise me if Microsoft just addressed that issue for the next Xbox, which would change everything.

I've wondered about that. Currently the PS5 is more modular than the PS4 was, with a removable drive and upgradeable storage. The PS6 could go even further by offering easy to install upgrade kits instead of entire new consoles for mid-cycle refreshes. Could be theoretically cheaper.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

Of course the main question to be asked is right on the box of my PS5, 8k, 4k at 120hz and HDR..........so explain to me again Sony the pount if the Pro? Lo!

 

[Owain Taggart]

Of course the main question to be asked is right on the box of my PS5, 8k, 4k at 120hz and HDR..........so explain to me again Sony the pount if the Pro? Lo!

Yeah, and that's a fair question, given that they've put 4K on the box since the OG PS5. Their marketing is so confusing in that regard. There really isn't a whole lot of value there with the Pro.

My guess is this: After seeing the reaction, Sony backpedals to offer the stand and a year of PS+ Premium. It's only fair, given some markets will easily pay $1000 for it without all that. When it comes down to it, they've really failed to think it through, especially in more expensive markets.

And to go further, only offering previously used ie refurbished consoles at reduced pricing rather than reducing the price of new overall PS5's is an absolute insult. It's disgusting.

 

[Jax]

Already rumours that this is literally a "mid" refresh because in 4 years we will see the PS6.

Gone are the days of real generational jumps and every 4-5 years were going to get constant mid upgrades with some being called a Pro and some being given a number. Consoles being literal mini pc's trying to constantly bring out new versions is unsustainable. These machines now cost too much, dev's can't make games fast enough and consumers have less and less money each year while the supply chain to just make these thing is broken because we simply make too much electronics crap to have in our home or carry in our pockets.

This multi billion dollar industry is heading for a burn - not tomorrow but most of us will live to see it.

 

[jenji120]

The more I think it, the more i'm less likely to opt for a Pro. I was looking at a more powerful gaming PC to enter the 1440p market + 1440p monitor and then I thought maybe get the Pro instead and save A LOT of money. Sony didn't impress at all and they seem like they have no respect of there customer base at all. This should look and feel like a premium device and we get a 10 minute rushed video and the dam thing doesn't even have a stand/disc drive with it.

I may look at a good Black Friday/November deal for the PS5 slim if the reviews over November about the Pro don't turn me around. I could use the spare cash to get a better GPU in my PC (currently have a GeForce GTX 1060 6GB to keep me going on that end for another couple of years.

The other thing to note is now that consoles are effectively locked down PCs. The "custom" hardware in them is "custom" in the same way that in a Steam Deck is, except on a Steam Deck you can change the OS.

If you have a PC, that $700 can probably be safely spent on an upgrade that will get you most of what the PS5 can do, if not better. The graphics technology in a GeForce 4070 Super card is far beyond a PS5 Pro, for instance.

The configuration issue is still there as consoles come preconfigured and PCs require a lot of fiddling, but it wouldn't surprise me if Microsoft just addressed that issue for the next Xbox, which would change everything.

This is the thing. The Pro will be close to my Alienware rtx 4070 but two things… 1. my m18 has an 18inch screen with the proper refresh rate 2. A tv or projector that has the refresh rate to take advantage of the pro is a bigger investment than the pro.

And I suppose a third thing….. I love the things I can do on PC. I adore modding and that’s a bigger draw for me than performance even though it’s related. But on well optimized games like RDR2 or even Ghost of Tsushima the graphics difference isn’t so much that a pro or PC with rtx is a must buy. PS5 runs close enough. What it lacks is modding. Console Skyrim will always look like crap whereas I can make PC Skyrim look like a new release. If Sony were to unlock the pro and let me mod then it becomes a deal. But for newer games graphics are at the technical point of diminishing returns versus cpu and gpu gains.

I might upgrade if Sony runs a trade in but no way I’d buy it at full price.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Gone are the days of real generational jumps and every 4-5 years were going to get constant mid upgrades with some being called a Pro and some being given a number. Consoles being literal mini pc's trying to constantly bring out new versions is unsustainable. These machines now cost too much, dev's can't make games fast enough and consumers have less and less money each year while the supply chain to just make these thing is broken because we simply make too much electronics crap to have in our home or carry in our pockets.

Yeah, I thought consoles were supposed to be the more affordable easier-to-deal with alternative, but now with the PS5 Pro looks like that reasoning is out the window. The PS5 Pro feels very much anti-consumer.

Here's an interesting video about the reveal. He's worked with IGN and has experience putting comparison videos together, so he knows what he's talking about. He makes a lot of great points. It baffles me that with many decades in the industry, that Sony couldn't figure out a way to properly convey the improvements they were talking about, especially via 1st-party games.

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[Haggis and tatties]

^^^That was indeed the whole point of a console, to be better bang for your buck than a pc was, and that became even more of a selling point when gpu's started hitting over £1000 plus, but now it seems Sony want that Nvidia money, and with no competition as Xbox are basically out of the game, they can now go for it, and we think this is bad now, but just wait until they release the £1000 PS6, and the scary thing is people will pay that price, just as they are paying nvidia or Apples insane prices for their goods, i mean did you see how the run on the optional disk drive just went insane as people grab them now before they buy the pro. Lol

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, apparently Amazon sold out of the disc drive.

Still, I think in certain markets like Canada where it would be well-over $1000, I don't think it will sell well. Let that be a message to Sony.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

It is going to be very interesting to see how it sells come November, i mean here in the UK we are still being impacted by high utility bills, on top of everything else 2 years after it started, so i just do not see it selling well here at least.

 

[Owain Taggart]

And even setting the price aside, I really don't think it's a great upgrade. Theoretically, even if I could purchase it and I had the hardware to take advantage of it, I don't think I would given the improvements are minor. Which is why I've felt like they should have skipped the mid-gen update and just go straight for the PS6 as the next console. I just wish they would stop doing the mid-gen update in general. The PS4 Pro made more sense from a hardware update standpoint to catch up to the new standards, but not this.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

Yeah this seems to be a utter waste of time, because as we all know, it does not matter how much power your hardware has, if the game devs making the software do not use it correctly then it ends up being a waste of time, as gamers who are sitting with £3000 PC gaming rigs watch in horror as games are launched broken and unfinished with frame rates all over the place on their £2000 RTX4090TI.......so the uproar when say GT6 launches with 30 fps, or under when RT is enabled, is going to be fun to watch. lol

 

[Owain Taggart]

Un-optimized games ruining consoles! The struggle is real!

But yeah, there are many games that run horribly even on the best consoles, so it's a combination of poorly optimized games (ie Cyberpunk 2077 for example) and dashed expectations. I remember getting into Vampyr on the PS4. Decent enough game in its concept, except the game had terrible frame-rate issues that really hampered it making it more difficult than it needed to be. In the end, this really feels like Sony keeps moving the goalposts, because we really know that developers are going to focus on graphics rather than performance as long as they can get away with it. I mean, who wouldn't want their games to look their best at all times? But the reality isn't such a pretty picture. And that's why the PS5 Pro is such a bunk upgrade. And I think console manufacturers should be careful about what they promise in this instance. I can imagine the handful of games that would be PS5 Pro enhanced, many of them games that were already on the console for years. What would have helped would have been for a brand new PS5 Pro Enhanced title to show off that would be available on launch of the console. But all they were showing were games that players have likely already played.

The sad thing is, there will be people who will be convinced to buy one, and I can imagine this is where buyer's remorse would set in.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

It seems news going about now is that Digital foundery are stating Alan Wake II is running on the pro at a 860p, which is then being upscaled to 4k to allow 60 fps, not 120 fps, but 60 fps.............on a £700 console.......oh dear. lol