Sony Officially Unveils PS5 Pro During Technical Presentation
Sony has officially unveiled the PlayStation 5 Pro, confirming rumors that have been circulating in the gaming community. The new console will be available this November at a price of $699.99, featuring no disc drive.
During a PlayStation 5 Technical Presentation, PS5 lead architect Mark Cerny introduced the PS5 Pro as a mid-generation upgrade, highlighting significant improvements including a larger GPU, enhanced ray tracing capabilities, and new custom hardware dedicated to machine learning, dubbed PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution.
The design of the PS5 Pro aligns with recent leaks, resembling a slimmer version of the PS5 with distinctive stripes along the sides. A gallery of images showcases the console's design.
Hideaki Nishino, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment's Platform Business Group, detailed the PS5 Pro's performance enhancements in a PlayStation Blog post:
- Upgraded GPU: The PS5 Pro boasts a GPU with 67% more Compute Units and 28% faster memory compared to the original PS5, delivering up to 45% faster rendering and smoother gameplay.
- Advanced Ray Tracing: The console introduces more powerful ray tracing, offering dynamic light reflections at up to triple the speed of the current PS5.
- AI-Driven Upscaling: The new PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution uses AI-driven upscaling for sharper image quality by adding an exceptional level of detail.
The PS5 Pro will retail at $699.99 / £699.99 / €799.99 / ¥119,980 and will include a 2TB SSD, a DualSense controller, and a pre-installed copy of Astro’s Playroom. The vertical stand will be sold separately. Although the PS5 Pro is a disc-less console, a compatible disc drive is available for purchase separately. It also comes with the latest wireless technology, Wi-Fi 7, in supported regions.
Games that utilize the PS5 Pro’s new features will be labeled with a 'PS5 Pro Enhanced' tag. Titles such as Alan Wake 2, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, Demon’s Souls, Dragon’s Dogma 2, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Gran Turismo 7, Hogwarts Legacy, Horizon Forbidden West, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, The Crew Motorfest, The First Descendant, and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered will be among those optimized for the PS5 Pro.
The console is backward compatible with all PS5 games, maintaining the same user interface, multiplayer capabilities, and online services. CNET reports that the PS5 Pro supports Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and 8K resolution, with up to 50 PS5 Pro Enhanced games available at launch on November 7, 2024.
