With Sony’s current-gen console entering its third year on the market, rumors of an enhancedPS5 Prohave begun heating up with leakers hinting at the console’s existence. While the basePS5hardware is still able to offer players a top-notch experience, the bulky size of the console, limited storage capacity, and ambitious new titles pushing the hardware to its limits make an enhanced redesign appealing. However, while the release window for this PS5 Pro is still unconfirmed, it could create an unfortunate situation given the release ofFinal Fantasy 16andMarvel’s Spider-Man 2later this year.
Sony has a history of releasing a mid-generation redesign of its consoles, with the original PlayStation, PS2, PS3, and PS4 all receiving new designs partway into their lifespans. However, the PS4 also received the enhanced PS4 Pro in 2016, three years after the console’s initial release. With the three-year anniversary of the PS5’s launch coming later this year, therelease of a PS5 Prowould make a lot of sense, but it could conflict with players picking up a PS5 to play some of this year’s major console exclusives depending on its release window.
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A PS5 Pro Could Undercut Final Fantasy 16 and Spider-Man 2
After a launch plagued by component shortages leading to limited availability of the console, the PS5 is finally starting to become widely available for purchase just in time for two of the console’s highly anticipated titles to release. WithFinal Fantasy 16releasing in June 2023andSpider-Man 2slated for launch in Fall 2023, it’s likely many players will be taking this opportunity to finally pick up a PS5 in order to play these titles. However, keeping a Pro model of the console shrouded in mystery could end up disappointing these fans in the long run.
While concrete information about the PS5 Pro is scarce beyond leaks and rumors,dev kits for the PS5 Pro are supposedly shipping soon to first-party developers, which could indicate the console’s launch may be closer than expected. If Sony were to follow a similar timeline to the PS4 last generation, the PS5 Pro could release around Holiday 2023 or Spring 2024. This timeline would keep Sony on pace with the evolving hardware available on the market, but fans who purchase a console this summer in order to play its hot new exclusives may end up disappointed that they just missed picking up the enhanced PS5 Pro.
FromSony’s perspective, the company obviously wants to sell as many PS5s as it can, regardless of if a newer hardware revision is coming down the pipeline. However, releasing a new and improved version of its flagship console shortly after a big wave of sales generated by these popular titles might only end up frustrating new players. Even releasing the PS5 Pro a year from now could lead to some frustration for players who invested in a new console that is already outdated a year later, and there could be brand new exclusives that launch ahead of it then, too. Mid-gen improvements are going to cause a problem, if not now withFinal Fantasy 16andSpider-Man 2, then likely with something in the coming years.
To avoid this frustration, Sony needs to make its plans for the PS5 Pro clear sooner rather than later to give potential customers time to evaluate whether they want to jump on the platform now or wait for the enhanced edition. It would be a shame for the company to kill the hype forFinal Fantasy 16andSpider-Man 2by announcing a new version of the console right after a large wave of players will likely be purchasing a base PS5. Instead, Sony can use aPS5 Proannouncement to fuel hype for the games with an incoming announcement of the revised console along with the ways it will enhance these titles.
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