PS5 Pro: Spec speculation and is it even necessary

Sony is going to be releasing a PS5 Pro at some point this year, according to fresh rumours.

Speaking to CNBC, Kantan Games CEO Serkan Toto said that “There seems to be a broad consensus in the game industry that Sony is indeed preparing a launch of a PS5 Pro in the second half of 2024,” adding that “Sony will want to make sure to have a great piece of hardware ready when GTA 6 hits in 2025, a launch that will be a shot in the arm for the entire gaming industry.”

Now, if that name sounds familiar, Toto-san was the same analyst who predicted, several times, that Nintendo was working on a mid-generation Switch Pro model. Which of course never materialized, so its best to take anything he says with a boulder of salt. Though with the PS5 turning four this November, it does line up with the timing that the PS4 Pro launched back in 2016.

As for what the console’s hardware could look like, we can only speculate at this time. Based on my own educated guess, it will likely feature an improved AMD Zen 3 CPU, perhaps based on the 5700X3D, as additional cache has been shown to improve game performance, while being cheaper than newer Zen 4 based processors. The GPU will likely be a cut-down variant of the RDNA3-based 7700XT, topping out at 20.0 TF. This will doubling the performance over the base console, while improving power efficiency. RAM will likely stay the same.

As for pricing, it’s tough to say. The PS5 is already pretty expensive at $499 USD ($649 CAD). The PS4 Pro launched at $399, the same price as the base PS4 originally sold for. Though with the PS5 seeing no price cuts following the introduction of its “slim” model, a PS5 Pro is likely to cost quite a bit more. Optimistically $599, but perhaps more likely, $699 USD.

The penultimate question though is whether a PS5 Pro really necessary.

The PS4 Pro was introduced for a couple reasons. First off, to address some shortcomings with the console’s original hardware. Notably its rather weak CPU, which had been a complaint from developers. The second reason was to support 4K TVs, which were becoming increasingly common around the time it launched. In practice, despite offering over double the performance of its base counterpart, the PS4 Pro’s improvements weren’t that noticeable. Even its 4K support was largely fudged through clever rendering techniques. Games also needed to be updated to support it, which outside of Sony first party titles, few were. In most cases, that was simply the addition of a 60fps mode.

The PS5 meanwhile exists in a bit of a different reality. 8K televisions have not caught on with the public due to high costs and diminishing returns over 4K. We also aren’t seeing games really push up against the boundaries of what the current hardware is capable of. At best you’re getting some improvements to resolution and FPS, but again you’re hitting that wall of diminishing returns. Especially considering that high refresh rate TVs haven’t really caught on either. Nor have developers complained much about its current performance.

Even gamers are a bit baffled as to why Sony would be making this move. The company recently announced the PS5 was now entering the latter half of its life, with execs seeming rather bearish about its future. Sales will no doubt see an increase when GTA6 comes out next year. However, for all intents, the console has now entered its long tail, with Sony already shifting gears towards the PS6. There are no plans to release major games from existing franchises over the next year. Which would leave a PS5 Pro without a showpiece title. And as mentioned earlier, many comments I’ve seen online have complained that the PS5 is already expensive as is. Especially given the current state of the economy. Combined with the lack of exclusive games, it seems to be a solution in search of a problem. Much like the PS4 Pro was.

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if these rumours actually pan out.