NEWSLETTER
You don't need a PS5 Pro.
The Pro is the latest iteration of Sony’s PS5, offering more power and storage, faster Wi-Fi, and expanded support for tricks like advanced ray tracing—all for the bold price of $700. That’s all well and good, but if you already have a PS5, you don’t need to rush out and buy the new console. The PS5 Pro is similar to the Steam Deck OLED in this regard: It’s a marked improvement, but its existence doesn’t diminish the appeal of the original model. The PS5 you’ve had for years is still very cool and impressive, and if you’re happy with it—or if you don’t have the cash to spare—you might want to stop reading right here and start gaming. Astrobot With your happiness intact.
Now that it's just us, let's get down to business. If you regularly play PS5 games and can afford to spend (at least) $700 on a more powerful console with more features, absolutely should Get a PS5 Pro.
The PS5 Pro launches November 7 with a 2TB SSD, Wi-Fi 7, faster memory, improved rendering capabilities, and support for VRR, advanced ray tracing, and “8K gaming.” With the Pro, Sony has introduced a proprietary upscaling system called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, which fills in pixel-level detail using machine learning technology in a similar way to NVIDIA’s DLSS. There’s also PS5 Pro Game Boost, an upscaling suite that can be applied to backwards-compatible PS4 games, stabilizing or improving their performance on the new hardware. Sony says this can improve performance for supported PS5 titles, too.
In theory, these improvements mean that gamers no longer have to choose between a premium resolution and high, consistent frame rates, as long as the game they’re playing is updated to take full advantage of the console. On the standard and Digital Edition PS5s, players typically choose between Performance mode, which enables 60fps or 120fps at a lower resolution, or Fidelity mode, which delivers a crisp resolution at 30fps. The Pro, thanks to the increased power and upscaling system, can easily handle simultaneous 4K and 60fps output, and beyond.
In practice, this means that games look and feel exceptional on the PS5 Pro. I played a handful of titles on the Pro for two hours at Sony’s San Mateo studio, and many of the setups included a second screen with the game running on existing PS5 hardware, for comparison. In general, standard PS5 games never looked bad, but the Pro’s displays definitely looked better.
However, it was the Pro games that really won me over. Going from 30fps on the standard PS5 to 60fps on the PS5 Pro (at the same perceptible resolution or even higher) was all I needed to be convinced. The Last of Us Part II Remastered It offered a poignant demonstration of this difference: I played for a minute in Fidelity mode at 4K/30, then switched to the Pro at 4K/60, and the change was felt instantly. goodI wondered how or why I had ever played a game at 30fps in my life. Why choose between image quality and frame rate when you can have both?
Each developer approached the Pro's power from a unique angle. Spider-Man 2For example, Insomniac focused on improving the draw distance and resolution of distant objects in sprawling cityscapes. The result is a crisp, detailed web-slinging experience through downtown Manhattan without the slight blurriness offered by the standard version. The Hogwarts Legacy The developers at Avalanche Software wanted to improve the game's lighting and reflections, and they did: the Pro version features a castle filled with slick stones and vibrant rainbow stained glass that ripples realistically as the player moves.
F1 24In the meantime, it can now handle ray tracing at 4K/60 during races, and the team at Codemasters has built new fences and implemented more realistic, auto-generated reflections on tracks. The difference between ray tracing and none at all is stark, and the game’s Performance mode can hit 4K at 120fps on the Pro, rather than maxing out at 1440p on current models. A new Resolution mode outputs at 8K/60, but to experience it, you’ll need to get your hands on an 8K TV first.
As with the last generation of enhanced consoles (Xbox One x and PS4 Pro), much of the responsibility for making the PS5 Pro worthwhile falls on publishers and developers. At yesterday's State of Play event, Sony announced tech-to-enhance-their-games/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:a second batch of titles;cpos:3;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas” class=”link “>a second batch of titles which will be updated for PS5 Pro, including Star Sword, Alan Wake 2, Resident evil village and Dragon Age: Veil GuardIt's a solid start, but someone spending $700 on a console will rightly expect many more updates over time.
Speaking to all the developers at the event, there was one shared sentiment: this is an exciting era of experimentation and customization, and the Pro represents an opportunity for studios to create the definitive console versions of their games. We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Pro’s improvements, and therefore the future of console experiences in general.
Design-wise, the Pro is big, but then again, so are all versions of the PS5. It looks massive next to the updated PS5 Slim, but from the side and upright, the Pro is the same height as the launch PS5 and just as wide as the current Slim version. This creates an elongated, skyscraper aesthetic that only highlights how intrusive the console really is, but if you’re a PS5 gamer, this is nothing new. The black gills running across the top half of the Pro don’t do much to dissipate visual weight, but aside from providing some much-needed ventilation, they nicely mirror the look of the wider PS5 lineup.
The stand that allows the Pro to stand upright is sold separately and costs $30. There's also the option to add an Ultra HD Blu-ray drive to the new console, just like the Digital Edition, and that costs $80. So if you're looking for the full Pro package, you'll have to shell out $810.
It's a beastly price for a beastly console, but thankfully that description applies to both performance and looks.
Sony is exploring a niche market with the Pro, targeting dedicated PS5 gamers who have the cash to burn. It’s not for everyone, and Sony will have to convince a lot of developers to support this small audience. But for the kind of console gamer who wouldn’t hesitate to spend $200 on a controller or $700 on a console (me, for example), it seems like a worthwhile upgrade.
