Sony's 'PS5 Pro' beats Xbox to the AI graphics punch with its 'PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR)' feature — but it's $699.99

[Windows Central]

Microsoft is once again on the back foot with gaming consoles, as its "world's most powerful console" is no longer the world's most powerful. Sony's PS5 Pro has the Xbox Series X beaten on paper, complete with AI upscaling tech for boosted performance. But oh boy, it ain't cheap.

Sony's 'PS5 Pro' beats Xbox to the AI graphics punch with its 'PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR)' feature — but it's $699.99 : Read more

 

[fatpunkslim]

Microsoft is once again on the back foot with gaming consoles, as its "world's most powerful console" is no longer the world's most powerful. Sony's PS5 Pro has the Xbox Series X beaten on paper, complete with AI upscaling tech for boosted performance. But oh boy, it ain't cheap.

Sony's 'PS5 Pro' beats Xbox to the AI graphics punch with its 'PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR)' feature — but it's $699.99 : Read more

I find you very optimistic about the PS5 pro. I personally think it's going to be a big flop for several reasons!

Very few developers will bother using proprietary technologies like PSSR or developing specifically for the PS5 Pro. We can clearly see the state of the video game industry currently. The constraints of development time, budget and resources have never been greater, I have difficulty seeing how developers are going to waste time on a console that will sell very little.

Don't forget that if the game is not designed for this mid gen console, there will be no or marginal profit. The framerate or resolution boost is not automatic.

The other reason is the price of course. I think Sony is doing really badly for daring to offer this kind of price, like having increased the price of current accessories. They are really testing the limits of acceptability of their hardware.

Even for casual gamers who don't know much about video games, they are unlikely to be convinced.

The other reason is the games, this PlayStation generation is probably the poorest in terms of first party games and even third party exclusives. I don't really see what would push you to buy this mid gen console.

All mid gen have never sold much but this one risks being even worse with a particular context which I have drawn a few lines above: purchasing power at half mast, gaming industry forced to reduce their budget, etc...

From what I see, Playstation increasingly has a negative image regarding the prices of their games, the price of their updates, the price of their DLC, the price of their accessories and the price of their consoles . And at the same time, they offer very little in terms of games, which hardly justifies such an investment. They also carry a negative image at the marketing level, people are less and less fooled by their marketing methods.

Xbox does not need to follow PlayStation in this area, the Xbox Series is sufficient for this gen ! Most games don't use all xbox series power.

I prefer that Xbox focuses on games and not so much on hardware like Sony does which has released more new hardware than games. (ps vr 2 > flop / ps portal > semi flop / ps5 slim / buds / etc..)

I guess Xbox releasing the new generation of consoles a year early, which would also explain why they didn't want to release mid gen

 

[Ron-F]

At this price level, those interested in a premium gaming experience might lean towards PC gaming. It seems unlikely that this console will attract a significant audience.

 

[ShavedMonkey]

The interesting thing here for Xbox is the ability to scale up and switch on similar enhancements in the Cloud with no need for a console upgrade. The future of gaming.

 

[Lurking_Lurker_Lurks]

The interesting thing here for Xbox is the ability to scale up and switch on similar enhancements in the Cloud with no need for a console upgrade. The future of gaming.

That's only if Microsoft switches from using Xbox hardware to run cloud gaming to PC hardware, but currently a big pull for Xbox Cloud Gaming is how many games just work on it without extra work because it runs on console hardware. Unlike Stadia where everything needed to be ported before even being added. And it's a little cheaper to operate than the really high end Nvidia. Though MS has promised PC cloud gaming so that point may be moot. As of now, upgrading cloud gaming hardware regardless means building new Xbox console hardware. And last time it lagged behind the generation because they used Xbox One S hardware at first (and only converted into series X like 1 to 2ish years in the generation; there were also controversies about it impacting available Series X consoles and potentially sales).

 

[Lurking_Lurker_Lurks]

At this price level, those interested in a premium gaming experience might lean towards PC gaming. It seems unlikely that this console will attract a significant audience.

This is my take. I feel like Sony doesn't realize or possibly care (and they're on their high horse) how much they are pushing gamers to PC gaming. There are always going to be the extreme loyalists who don't care about the price, but at $700 just as an entry point most people are going to think twice. And that's not including $80 a year (minimum) for paid multiplayer and cloud saves (both of which are free on PC) or any of the other stupid expensive accessories which keep rising in prices or the increased cost of games which Sony spearheaded. Or the reality that having a setup that can make use of any of what the PS5 Pro is promising is itself really expensive. Online gaming communities will bash on the Series S but a $300/$350 (easily $200 for sales) console with its technical capabilities is insane and so far the only confirmed constraint problem that actually impact game availablility is Baldur's Gate 3 and SOLELY because of the split screen (because otherwise Larian got BG3 running day one on Steam deck). The PS5 Pro literally costs at minimum twice as much as the Series S and yes it's significantly more powerful but whose it worth it for? I feel like Sony is getting rather out of touch with console players. Console gaming has always been about casual and plug and play experiences. People choose it over PC because it's both cheaper and more user friendly. But Sony is really pushing the limits of that. A pro model that costs $50 to $100 more is fine because it's not that much more and offers a premium experience that still isn't "as" powerful as the highest end PC but more than satisfies console users. But normally consoles both start at less and have gone down in price by now... yet here Sony is holding prices (even with their slim models which cost less to make) and charging an insans $200 premium to upgrade.

There is a reason why the Nintendo Switch has become the best selling console since the PS2 (though that fact in of itself is a little depressing and I'd really hoped personally consoles would be selling far more units on average now) despite being weaker than even the Xbox One and PS4 consoles. Gaming isn't about some graphics and framerate fetish. It's about having fun and it's a freaking pass time for most people. Honestly its not just PC. People are going to see these rising prices and some are just going to choose a different hobby or form of entertainment all together (like getting an Apple TV and Netflix sub). And it's so interesting how this comes during a time when PC Gaming is getting easier to entire into and costs less. Like the Steam Deck starts at $400 and boasts the super user friendly and fluid Steam OS. Windows Handhelds average for about $500 to $800 and windows is doing a surprising amount to improve gaming on them (and third parties are doing even more). These are super powerful premium devices but offer a lot of benefits over consoles in a handheld form factor. Even otherwise as kids grow up on YouTube building PCs is becoming more popular and it's so much more cost effective. And then you have actual options for where to buy games and that makes prices and benefits more competitive.

 

[Lurking_Lurker_Lurks]

Okay it's a little frustrating seeing Xbox get blasted for "giving up on consoles" when business wise it's been Sony this generation acting like consoles are a dying business. Something I've learned in university is how businesses categorize products differently. What Sony has been doing this generation has been very similar to how a business acts when they don't expect to sell to new people or increase users and instead expect their products customers to slowly (even if very slowly) stagnate and die off. At that point with a product line the strategy becomes to bleed them dry. I imagine Sony is especially happy to do so with the rising costs of development and operating as both a publisher and platform manufacturer. And that's how they've been this generation. They were among the first to spearhead the increased cost of games, they kept increasing the cost of their subscriptions (even before any GP price hikes) with the lowest tier now sitting at $80 a year, they increased the cost of their accessories, they held on console prices unlike previous year and even increased it in places (and this is AFTER they lowered the cost of production), and pushed accessories that offered minimum value for premium prices (like the PS Portal). Sony has not acted like a business that expects their gaming platform to grow in users or for that matter even wants that to occur.

From what I see Xbox feels like they're expanding. They don't solely care about console sales anymore, but there's no real indication that they don't see ANY future growth in it in the future. The Series S in particular is how I can tell that. As a SKU it does better to target new users than a Series X or Pro console could and we have seen MS report that most of their Series S purchases in the past have been brand new to the Xbox ecosystem. Consoles may not be their only growth sector anymore, but I don't see a "no console required" ad as them giving up entirely. I see a business pushing insane prices to bleed their user base dry as that. Xbox is positioning itself to grow and they could of course fumble the ball (any company can) but there's nothing really alarming to me with their current reality. Xbox has only really increased prices to keep up with the market norm usually after the market leader (Sony). Sony on the other hand, I think doesn't really have as much of a strategy to grow beyond the static console market nor are they trying to reach new users very much anymore. And then there's the question of how will they grow? The rumored PC store? Another bout into cloud gaming as a standalone service (like PS Now was? Which btw you could use PS Now on Sony smart tvs without a console way back in like 2014).

I forsee a future where Xbox releases new consoles every 5 to 6 years. No pro just upgrades every 5 to 6 years. Xbox will probably never sell significantly more units because no console probably ever will. We've only JUST managed to get a console that is close to surpassing the PS2 in sales and that's really not a milestone when you consider how long a console's lifetime is, how much it costs, and how despite that they can't even break 200 million units (let me say it is a milestone for Nintendo that should be celebrated but overall with the console market it reveals a problem). But Playstation? I don't expect them to go away just like I don't expect Xbox or Nintendo to go away. But I'm rather alarmed at their strategy both for what it means to their platform and to their gamers. I was possibly going to buy a PS5 Pro but I can't justify and can't condone that price (which doesn't even include a disk drive... Why?!) making this the first generation I'm skipping the PS. Like for crying out loud I bought a Series X and S together AT LAUNCH for only $100 more than this singular Pro model PS5 costs 4 years later (only $20 more if I want to play disc games). With this precedent set how much will their hardware and games cost next generation? And as the console market leader they have so much sway. I don't want this to become any type of norm.

 

[Lurking_Lurker_Lurks]

This is a bit of a different subject but to pivot a bit: can we talk about that Japanese price? Because guys ¥120,000 is NOTHING to laugh at. Exchange rates are trash but in Japan that's just their normal money. Like ¥120,000 is still a LOT and this is Sony's home country. For a lot of people that is a big BIG chunk of their paycheck. We've already seen Xbox get a random sales boost in Japan last time Sony raised prices. Maybe Xbox ends this generation stealing more market share than expected solely because Playstation insists on costing a fortune. If they are releasing a new Xbox generation in 2026 and play it right with SKUs, pricing, and marketing on top of having the content, studios, and publishers then they could really start to achieve that dream of a massively popular ubiquitous ecosystem (console, cloud, PC, and mobile). No other gaming company is building as robust and expansive of an ecosystem. Now Xbox just needs to not be mediocre in each and go full speed ahead (and Microsoft windows is YOUR operating system, so do better as a windows gaming launcher and storefront and for God's sake give us an Xbox gaming mode to compete with steam).