Sony Unveils PlayStation 5 Pro, A Mid-Cycle Refresh With Enhanced Graphics & AI Upscaling
Sony’s mid cycle refresh to the PS5 adds massive hardware updates which make it the world’s most powerful video game console.
After months of rumors, Sony has finally unveiled its latest game console, the PlayStation 5 Pro. Unlike the PlayStation 5, which has become the best-selling console of the current generation, the PS5 Pro is a mid-cycle refresh that aims to boost performance.
Mark Cerny, the architect behind the PlayStation 5, hosted an online technical presentation that lasted only nine minutes. The PS5 Pro boasts a new GPU with 67 percent more compute power and 28 percent faster memory, resulting in a 45 percent faster rendering of graphics. Sony has unlocked more advanced ray tracing technology, ensuring sharper graphics while maintaining a stable 60 frames per second refresh rate.
In the US, the PS5 Pro will be available starting November 7 for $700. However, it will not be released in India until next year, likely at the end of Q1 or Q2, something that BW Businessworld has exclusively verified from its independent sources from Sony’s channel partners in India. Notably, the PS5 Pro will not include a disk drive, requiring users to pay an additional $80 for the optical drive. Additionally, it will not come with a vertical stand, similar to the PS5 Slim.
The PS5 Pro is slightly taller than the PS5 Slim and comes preinstalled with Astro’s Playroom, a game that many gamers have compared to Mario, the iconic character in Nintendo’s platformer games. The Mario franchise is renowned for its iconic status in Nintendo’s line of consoles and handheld devices.
What’s new is the memory, which now comes with 2TB of storage, matching Microsoft’s offering with the Xbox Series X Galaxy Edition. This was Sony’s weakness with the previous generation of the PS5 as it has lesser memory and overall peak performance of the Xbox Series X was slightly higher. Sony is also highlighting PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution technology, its own AI upscaling approach similar to what’s available on PCs with Nvidia GPUs.
This technology is being introduced to consoles for the first time, enabling demanding games to run with enhanced graphical fidelity and higher frame rates on systems with lower performance capabilities. Additionally, Sony is introducing a Game Boost mode to stabilize performance and image quality for some of its older games. Sony claims that this technology will support 8500 PlayStation 4 titles and will also work on the PS5.
Games that have been optimized for the PS5 Pro include Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, The Last of Us Part II Remastered, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, which will come with enhanced badging for the PS5 Pro.
