Sony Interactive Entertainment CEOs Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino have revealed some interesting insights about the company's overall strategy in a recently published interview with Variety.
Responding to an initial question about the launch timing of the PlayStation 5 Pro, Nishino explained that the company “learned a lot” from the launch of the PS4 Pro. He said that “20% of customers got the PS4 Pro,” suggesting that there is quite a bit of interest in high-end PlayStation devices. He also stated that the company saw new users coming to PlayStation “to get PS4 Pro as well.”
As a result, Sony “started working on the PS5 Pro even earlier [the] “The PS5 is launched.” Nishino goes on to say that “for us it was another five-year project.”
As for whether a mid-generation upgrade like the PS5 Pro is really necessary, the CEO drew parallels with the world of mobile phones and PCs, where annual iterations are common. “Phones get updated every year, PCs get updated every year,” he said. “I don't think we'll do updates every year, but there are things we can package to incorporate the best things into [the] range of the game console segment.”
Nishino also commented on the early reception of the PS5 Pro, with pre-orders for the console starting last month. “We're happy to see that most of the engaged gaming users are interested in the PS5 Pro,” he began, “and then I'm pretty sure that new users will also pick up the PS5 Pro.”
“We designed everything with one in mind,” he added. “It's not like we just take the next step and don't know what the next two steps are.” This last detail might not come as a big surprise to those who have been following the latest PS6 rumors, which have already begun to circulate.