After years of rumour, speculation and hype, Sony has confirmed it is launching a more powerful – and much more expensive – version of its hugely popular PlayStation 5 console.
The PS5 Pro will be able to show more advanced graphics and display the most demanding games at higher, more consistent frame rates.
But that added power will come at a cost: the PS5 Pro will be the most expensive console from Sony to date.
It will cost £699.99 when it launches on 7 November this year – hundreds of pounds more than the PS5.
“The price point of the PS5 Pro will inevitably cause a lot of commentary,” analyst Piers Harding-Rolls from research firm Ampere said.
He said the firm appeared to be betting that the console’s improved performance would encourage users to upgrade their existing hardware and spend more on software.
Mark Cerny, lead architect of the PS5, said it was “the most powerful console we’ve ever built”.
He said it sought to resolve a problem gamers had faced for years – whether to play a console game in so-called “fidelity mode”, which favours visuals, or “performance mode”, which makes a game smoother, though at the cost to how it looks.
He said the PS5 Pro was about “removing that decision, or at least narrowing that divide”.
GamesIndustry.biz head Christopher Dring told the BBC it was “a very targeted console” for PlayStation’s “most enthusiastic audience”.
“The console industry has had a tough time this year, with falling sales of PS5, Xbox Series S and X, and the ageing Nintendo Switch,” he said.
“PS5 Pro isn’t going to change that situation.”
But he said Sony might have one eye on the most anticipated game in the world – Grand Theft Auto VI – which is due to release next year.
“When GTA 6 does launch, PlayStation will be able to say to players that the game will look best on PS5 Pro,” he said.
Companies have released updated versions of their own consoles with minor revisions for decades, but this release indicates the comparatively new trend of “pro” hardware is here to stay.
Generally, this means hardware changes to current-generation consoles that lets games look better – but critically these tweaked consoles don’t have exclusive games.
In other words, games will still be released for PS5, and gamers can choose whether to play them on a regular console or a pro model with differences in graphics and performance.
Paul Tamburro, from news website PlayStation LifeStyle, said fans had been hoping the console could “bridge the gap” between performance and fidelity modes, and the upgrade would help.
“However, it also feels that the console doesn’t do enough to justify that steep price point,” he said.
“It launching without a disc drive and still only targeting 60 FPS is disappointing.
“This isn’t an easy sell to current PS5 owners.”
It’s Sony’s second major foray into this space after 2016’s PS4 Pro, which brought 4k graphics to the original PlayStation 4.
And it comes three years after Nintendo released its own take on a pro model – a Nintendo Switch with a larger, better screen.
Today’s announcement from Sony is not as significant as the PS4’s jump to 4k graphics, but it still represents a step forward in home consoles.
It comes at a time when PCs have been getting increasingly powerful, with the release of Nvidia’s Geforce 40 series of graphics cards in 2022, which have put PCs firmly ahead of home consoles in the race for the best visuals.
But it’s worth remembering just one of these graphics cards can cost as much as a whole PS5, so consoles tend to strike a balance between the best visuals and the best price.
Like with the last console generation, this release means Sony will now have multiple versions of its PS5 available to consumers, with different price points and specs.
Rumours spread widely ahead of the announcement, with fans speculating on the features an upgraded console might have.
Chief among them were unsourced claims that the PS5 Pro would be backwards compatible with games from previous Sony consoles – with some reports suggesting this would go as far back as the original PlayStation.
There was nothing in the announcement to confirm the rumours.
