Analysts believe that Sony will be releasing a PlayStation 5 Pro this year.
As reported by CNBC, Dr. Serkan Toto of Kantan Games and George Jijiashvili of Omdia have chimed in on this possibility.
Dr. Toto, who is based in Japan, claims many in the industry share this opinion. He says:
“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.
And Sony will want to make sure to have a great piece of hardware ready when GTA VI hits in 2025, a launch that will be a shot in the arm for the entire gaming industry.”
There has been speculation that Sony would release a PlayStation 5 Pro for the past few years, but there’s also reason to believe that Sony would not go ahead with such a move. Such a decision would have to balance out two things; whether games are being constrained in this generation that it would justify a mid-generation upgrade, and if gamers would be willing to spend for another console.
In Sony’s case, they had been announcing continued growth for PlayStation 5 sales until this quarter. Sony confirmed they sold the console under expectations, and lowered their forecast. This led to Sony losing $ 10 billion in value as investors virtually downvote the outcome.
Whether Microsoft also releases a mid-generation upgrade would also factor in on such a decision. Sony may feel that they made a mistake if Microsoft turns out to release their next generation console in 2026, as is also rumored. PS5 Pro owners could feel they were cheated into thinking they could still look forward to more ninth generation games for four years, when Xbox owners would get a head start on tenth generation games.
But even a bigger issue than that, is if consumers are willing to spend on new consoles at this point in time at all. While different countries and economies around the world are reckoning with recession, America has managed to keep a growing economy going this year.
But in spite of that, US consumers are feeling the fallout from decisions businesses made during the height of lockdowns, among others. This partly accounts for the ongoing wave of layoffs in the video game industry, and it will affect their ability and interest to buy a PlayStation 5 Pro.
Jijiashvili opines that Sony won’t lower the price of the base PlayStation 5 if they release a PlayStation 5 Pro. He says:
“Therefore, a scenario where Sony launches as PS5 Pro, but still experiences a declining year-on-year hardware sales is very much within the realms of possibility.”
We also have to rememver the messy state of PlayStation management, such that Sony’s CFO and COO Hiroki Totoki is set to personally take over the division. As incoming PlayStation chair, Totoki will be deciding to go ahead with releasing a PlayStation 5 Pro, delaying, or even cancelling it. Totoki’s focus, based on his statements, is about cutting costs, and he may make decisions current PlayStation management will not anticipate.
So, in spite of the confidence of analysts, it’s somewhat up in the air if a PlayStation 5 Pro is really happening at all.
