The video game industry has been changing for several years. The microconductor crisis of years ago was just a prelude to what we are experiencing now: there is an evident increase in prices. Components do not reduce in cost, consoles seem to live in limbo, and nothing follows previously followed course. Something that seems to have worsened with the announcement of Sony’s new console, the PlayStation 5 Pro. But, is it as bad as people say?
First, let’s review what’s been going on. On September 10th, Sony streamed a presentation announcing an update to their current console, the PlayStation 5 Pro. Its key performance features, as they have indicated, are that its GPU has 67% more processing units and 28% more memory, which offers 45% faster rendering. This, combined with improved ray tracing (doubling or even tripling the speeds of the current PlayStation 5), and PlayStation’s Spectral Super Resolution (an AI-powered resolution enhancement), would make it possible to achieve much better image quality without sacrificing performance in games.
All of this, as promised, would come with specific patches for a series of specific PlayStation 5 games. In addition, the PS5 Pro Game Boost would add improvements to up to 8,500 PlayStation 4 games, compatible with the console.
Unfortunately, none of this was evident at the conference. Due to streaming comprehension, the differences in image or performance between both consoles were barely noticeable. Even in comparisons that have appeared subsequently, from independent subjects, there is no radical difference in performance. Or at least, not in games that didn’t have optimization problems to begin with. The only game that has shown a radical change is Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which was controversial at its launch due to its graphic issues.
This relatively small leap, as it seems, it will be, would not be a problem in itself. Except that the price and what it offers in that regard is quite a serious leap. Because, PlayStation 5 Pro costs the incredible amount of $700.00. To that, we add the price of the disc player and the stand, if we want to play our physical games or have it in a vertical position.
That’s the problem: the price. Asking for $700 at a time when people are having economic problems doesn’t seem like a very smart idea, and is even less so when consoles have never been priced in that range. Sony itself had to admit, that trying to raise the price of the PlayStation 3 was a colossal mistake.
What reason could they have to launch a clearly suboptimal console for $800.00? We can think of at least three. The first is that they want to test the waters. To see if the market is ready for a generous increase in console prices, where they don’t have to sell them at a loss, as they have done since the first generation of PlayStation. The second reason could be that executives see PlayStation as Apple. They believe it is a company of early adopters, of people who will jump to the company’s latest product because of its associated prestige, and that the price will not only not be a reason to stop them, but will motivate them to buy it. The third reason is pure and simple arrogance, simply wanting to maximize profits.
In any case, the success or failure of PlayStation Pro could end up determining the future of PlayStation 6, and even, perhaps, the future of the gaming industry. The success of this console at this price would not prevent them from launching their next console at a much higher price. Failure would make them reconsider the price of the console, or even what its technical features will be or exactly what kind of company they want to be in the future.
Because let’s remember: Sony is in a transition phase. After the dismissal of Jim Ryan, this is their last shot. The executives have been able to change marketing aspects and adjust the price, but the console and everything around it has already been given to them. While Hiroki Totoki is interim president, it has not yet been decided who will be the next president of Sony or what shape the company will take. Whether it will follow Ryan’s steps with what he did in PlayStation 4 and 5, whether it will go back to Shuhei Yoshida’s steps, or whether it will have a completely different approach.
The success or failure of the Playstation 5 Pro is important, and what happens in the boardrooms will depend on it. It will determine the direction Sony will move in the future. Will it continue to try to compete with Microsoft, will it try to be the old Sony again, or whether it will seek a new path? All of that will depend, among other things, on PlayStation 5 Pro. And if it succeeds, one thing is certain: the future does not look positive for gamers.
