In many ways, the timing of Sony's launch of the PS4 Pro in 2016 couldn't have been better. The slightly improved version of the 2013 PlayStation 4 arrived at a time when a wave of 4K TVs was just beginning to peak in the form of tens of millions of annual sales in the US.
Purchasing the first upgrade to Sony's “mid-generation” console in 2016 didn't give owners of the original PS4 access to any new games, a fact that contributed to us calling the PS4 Pro “a value proposition.” questionable” when it was released. Still, many graphics-conscious console gamers were looking for an excuse to use extra pixels and HDR colors on their new 4K TVs, and they spent hundreds of dollars on a stopgap console years before the PS5 served that purpose well enough.
Fast forward to today, and the PS5 Pro faces an even weaker value proposition. After all, the PS5 has proven to be more than capable of creating great-looking games that take full advantage of the 4K TVs that are now practically standard in American homes. Since 8K TVs remain an extremely small niche market, there's nothing close to what Sony's Mike Somerset called “the most significant increase in picture quality probably since black and white moved to color” when it comes to of 4K televisions in 2016.
Front view of the PS5 Pro. Note the complete lack of a built-in disk drive on the only available model.
Kyle Orland
Front view of the PS5 Pro. Note the complete lack of a built-in disk drive on the only available model. Kyle Orland
The console comes with these two cheap plastic “feet” to stabilize it when placed horizontally.
Kyle Orland
The console comes with these two cheap plastic “feet” to stabilize it when placed horizontally. Kyle Orland
The top view shows the console's accordion-style racing stripe.
Kyle Orland
The top view shows the console's accordion-style racing stripe. Kyle Orland
The console comes with these two cheap plastic “feet” to stabilize it when placed horizontally. Kyle Orland
The top view shows the console's accordion-style racing stripe. Kyle Orland
Instead, Sony says spending $700 on a PS5 Pro has a decidedly more marginal impact, namely helping current PS5 players avoid having to choose between “Performance” mode's fluid 60fps visuals and graphical effects. that maximize resolution. “Loyalty” mode in many games. Sony says the PS5 Pro's extra power will let you have the best of both worlds: full 4K graphics with ray tracing and 60 fps at the same time.
Although there is nothing precisely mistaken With this value proposition, a serious case of diminishing returns comes into play here. The graphical improvements between a PS5 game in “Performance mode” and a PS5 game in “Performance Pro mode” are small enough, in fact, that I often find it difficult to tell at a glance which is which.