CNBC: Sony to release the PS5 Pro this year, have it ready for GTA VI

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/20/ps5-pro-sony-to-release-refreshed-playstation-5-in-2024-analysts-say.html

Sony is likely to release a refreshed version of the PlayStation 5 this year, analysts told CNBC, after the company cut its forecast for sales of its flagship console.

The move would be designed to boost interest in the PlayStation 5 and offer a souped-up piece of hardware ready for release of Grand Theft Auto VI in 2025, one of this decade’s most hotly anticipated games, the analysts said.

Sony was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

First released in November 2020, Sony’s PlayStation 5 is now more than 3 years old. The Japanese gaming giant cut its forecast last week for PS5 sales for the fiscal year ending in March from 25 million units to 21 million units. An executive said last week during the company’s earnings call that Sony is expecting a “gradual decline” in unit sales from the next fiscal year.

When this has happened in past console cycles, gaming firms have looked to bring out a refreshed piece of hardware to reinviograte sales. For example, Sony launched a “Pro” version of the PlayStation 4, the previous generation console, around three years after the PS4 was initially launched.

Analysts are now expecting a PlayStation 5 Pro from Sony.

“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,” Serkan Toto, CEO of Tokyo-based games consultancy Kantan Games, told CNBC.

“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.”

Thoughts, SW? Do you think we’ll get a PS5 Pro this holiday season? I‘m going to go with Yes. It will also make things interesting for when he Switch 2 comes out months later.

They're truly burying Xbox ten feet under. No chance of recovery on the green side.

Do you agree with Ryan here?

Imagine wasting $500+ to play a "prettier" version of GTA6 of all games, that's dumb beyond belief.

If GTA 6 is 60fps on PS5 Pro then I might buy one. If its 1080p/60 im waiting for the PC version.

Yeah, pretty much expecting a PS5 Pro this year. I may upgrade to one myself but I also may not. It’s a wait and see.

Day 1 for PS5 Pro. This time I'll preorder the second it goes live and not wait a few minutes. As far as GTAV... yeah I'll probably get it too unfortunately.

Also if anyone knows the cheapest way for me to send my PS5 to the UK from the US please let me know. I was looking into my options and it looks like it's going to cost more to ship the damn thing as opposed to just buying him a new one.

TBH, I haven't had enough use out of my PS5 to reason buying a Pro model. I'll likely wait and see if they release some exclusives I want with no PC release.

Getting excited over PS5 Pro for GTA VI...😂

That's what I've been predicting since GTA6 trailer first appeared. It's possible for Sony to release the PS5 Pro/GTA6 bundle would be the best thing for Sony to capitalized GTA6 hype in a way that would give Sony the an edge.

If Sony does this, I'll gladly buy PS5 Pro bundle with GTA6. normally I would buy GTA6 on PC but since Rockstars isn't releasing GTA6 PC day one, I'll settle for the Pro instead.

It'll be interesting to see what happens, a huge new hardware investment on heels of news that their operating profits are narrowing. Hardware won't change that, rather it'd exacerbate that issue that caused them to take a $10 billion hit on their stock. But, the stock market is fickle, so, who knows.

Will be interesting to see what Microsoft has up their sleeves. Word is it is just an all digital Series X. I assumed at launch the whole X|S situation ruled out a mid-gen refresh on hardware. So unless they plan on beefing up their SDKs to make developing for the various models much easier, hard to see them trying to offer something to counter Sony's PS5 Pro move.

So cows spend $900 every 4 years? Lmao. Well I guess that's one way to escape 1080p 50 fps or 1440p 30 fps.

The rumored specs on this make my 3090 sweat. Buying a GPU these days is just a complete rip off tbh; I'll likely trade my PS5 in for this. Not for gta6 though. I'll get it on sale probably

Imagine living in a world where you can't get excited about a console on its own merits, but you have to attach a game to it (a much hyped and anticipated game, no less) in order to fabricate enthusiasm.

Well, imagine no longer!

Sad and pathetic.

I wonder how many Teraflops the PS5 Pro will have?!

I don't believe they will release a pro of PS5. There's really no point, save the time and effort into ps6. PS5 is just now starting to be used to it's full extent.

@mrbojangles25: That has been the case for literally every console release. PS5 had the least of those reasons at launch out of Sony's.

A game "attached" to it was the reason I got Nintendos, Segas, PlayStations, Xbox(es) etc.

Will it be as dismal of an upgrade like the PS4 pro was? To play a GTA game that will be on every platform and every next-gen platform for the next decade? Milk it, milk it and milk it.

If they sell it for $600, and the only noticeable upgrade is that it runs more games at 1800p+/60fps, while having the same graphical settings as the standard ps5, OOOF. I really don't want to see a PS4Pro 2.0. These kind of shit "upgrades" don't deserve to be released, because its like upgrading from an rx6800 to an rx6800xt while also paying full price for the xt. The f*ck. WHo does that?

I was, but my PS5 is collecting dust so I just don’t see the point. I’ll wait for the next Xbox.

Forget about GTA VI.

Imagine playing GTA IV at 4K 200 fps 🤯

@last_lap: You say that as if GTA 6 isn't the biggest game of the decade.

Poo cows, this will likely be Phony's last console. lol :P

@R4gn4r0k:

Dude I gave GTA IV another run on PC. The game just keeps crashing.

After like 8-9 crashes I finally made it in and got to launch a mission with cousin Roman, unfortunately while I drove him to someone's house the camera (While Niko is sitting in the car) just zoomed down to the earth's core and got stuck there.

Maybe its because of my 21:9 display messing stuff up.

All these issues and I haven't even started modding (and I suck at modding).

I just want to put all those insane visual / texture / RT mods on, run it in 4K/120, man.

The gameplay seems modern enough still.

Hmmm, unfortunately I haven't tried the game yet at 21:9.

You should definitely try DXVK as Vulkan is just a game changer and might even be able to mitigate your crashing.

it better play every ps5 game's quality mode at a playable framerate. because every one i've tried (obviously not all of them) has been unplayable, some have been downright slideshows

@R4gn4r0k: Cool. I'll download that and hopefully its up and running and I can later get some ENB / ICEnhancer mods running too.

The vanilla game does look and feel decent when maxed out 4K/120 though to be honest.

The driving mechanics drive (pun intended) me crazy though. I hate realistic physics. Give me arcade-y easy to control cars pls.

What makes this game stand out from the console version: once you go 60fps and beyond you really don't need aim assist anymore. Aim assist takes away a huge amount of skill and fun.

So for GTA IV you can turn off aim assist on PC and turn off advanced crosshair, it makes it a lot more like modern games. GTA IV's shooting on consoles can sometimes feel very arcady and outdated.

Hope you can resolve those nasty crashes!

If they can't seem to reduce the cost to produce PS5 down as per the latest financial release, there's no way they are going to release another even more expensive SKU.

This gen isn't worthy imo. After the expense of current gen consoles and all the hype, spending years giving us cross gen games. Nahhh, show me what these f**king things can do. Don't even tell me about so-called "pro" consoles.

Also this is embarrassing, all Sony does is release new hardware, PSVR 2, Portal, Pro... What about the games? MS/Sony are talking about a new gen in 2026 and Sony has only just started committing to current gen only games, and now has a HUGE gap until the next round of games. What are the pro consoles for? Was the base PS5 just a hustle?

Lets see what spec it is, if it's a decent bump then could well be worth getting, if its similar performance to both PS5 and series x with something like a resolution bump being the only tangible improvement then less so.

I want to ditch consoles altogether, not buy more of them. I would rather just wait for GTA 6 on PC like I did with RDR2 and I do with most Sony games. My PS5 sees little use other than playing NHL.

I can't imagine what a PS5 Pro would add to make it worth money above a PS5. The current PS5 doesn't have performance issues because all it's games were made to run on PS4.

@SolidGame_basic: You cows LOVE GETTING MILKED.

The PS5 isn't pushed to it's limits now - why do they need a mid-cycle refresh? Oh yeah, because you cows buy everything your blue messiah tells you to buy.

How's that PS Portal working for you?

It's nothing that Sony haven't done before they released the PS4 pro a year or so before the one X. It would be a smart move to get it out alongside GTA.

@dabear: The PS5 isn't pushed to its limit??????

The PS5 and XSX are struggling to hit 60 fps in resolutions as LOW as 720p for godssakes.

Look at any UE5 like Remnant II, Lords of the Fallen or Final Fantasy 16 for instance.

Or how the XSX has to run Starfield in an archaic 30 fps. my PC runs Starfield in 180 fps at higher resolution / settings than the XSX that gets 30 fps. If Starfield comes to PS5 Pro it would get 60 fps, tops.

Even a brand new shiny PS5 Pro will struggle to hit consistent 1080p/60fps in UE5 or other games with regular ray tracing. Nevermind full on RTGI / path tracing like we see on PC.

Those poor consoles are being worked overtime. there isn't a single drop of headroom.

Agreed. These analysts are not very deep thinkers. There's little to no incentive or reason for Sony to release another SKU.

1. The PS5 as-is is still selling really well.

2. Their peers are not providing enough pressure.

3. They're not releasing a Pro sku for GTA 6, of all things.

4. Their own first party software output doesn't warrant another SKU.

@BassMan said:

@Mozelleple112 said:

@dabear: The PS5 isn't pushed to its limit??????

The PS5 and XSX are struggling to hit 60 fps in resolutions as LOW as 720p for godssakes.

Look at any UE5 like Remnant II, Lords of the Fallen or Final Fantasy 16 for instance.

Or how the XSX has to run Starfield in an archaic 30 fps.

Even a brand new shiny PS5 Pro will struggle to hit consistent 1080p/60fps in UE5 or other games with regular ray tracing. Nevermind full on RTGI / path tracing like we see on PC.

Those poor consoles are being worked overtime. there isn't a single drop of headroom.

So... you think a mid-cycle refresh is going to suddenly let the "PS5 Pro" hit 4k/60fps?

Without forcing devs to do coding updates?

LMAO.

@Mozelleple112 a mid-cycle refresh is not going to beef up the console enough to make that leap.

@dabear: I know bro, that's why I said...

PS5/XSX struggles to hit 720p/60 in UE5 titles.

PS5 Pro: will get 1080p/60fps in UE5 titles.

Its not going to run native 4K/120 fps in games like Remnant 2 or Robocop.

But atleast it will double the resolution or FPS.

It's fun that you believe that.

Awww yeahhh,..

I know @TheEroica would want to upgrade from that lame duck Steam Deck.

Let's get this sum'bitch day 1 and make LEGENDARY memories...awww yahhh

Scalpers on high alert!

Naughty dog being prepped to begin work on a TLOU/TLOU2 Ps5 pro ramaster!

Ps5 and Ps5 pro have no Games!

What last place looks like!

I wonder what they can put in it realistically?

They are having trouble getting the PS5 BOM down apparently. So how is it going to look with the PS5 Pro? Are they bluffing and plan to have a 350 quid base PS5 and 550 PS5 pro maybe?

Or will they dip their toe again into waters where they previously shed much blood? Will they go.....beyond 599!?

The hardware is certainly there for a PS5 Pro. You can put much more powerful hardware now in a console the size of the OG PS5. It's just cost. So maybe they will take a punt at seeing if there is a market for a more premium, and premium priced, console.

If they were going to try it, pushing it with GTA6 would definitely be the time to do it. Let's call a spade a spade...It's GTA6. Like it or lump it, it will make an absolutely comical amount of money. It's pretty much the only IP on the planet where investing 1billion in it's production actually does make sense.

An $750 console (GPU similar to a 6800XT and 24GB of ram and 2TB SSD as standard say) with GTA 6 included.....any takers? 700 just for the entrance fee to play GTA6 the best way at launch.....many willing to take a punt?

PS5 Pro is basically a 7800 XT, 16GB GDDR6, 3700X (same old arch unfortunately)

@dabear: You don't believe the PS5 Pro will sustain UE5 titles in 1080p/60 fps?

the PS5 already gets 30 fps in 1080p or 60 fps in 720p.

The PS4 Pro was a 2.2x performance increase of the regular PS4.

If the PS5 Pro is another 2.2x performance increase over the regular PS5 it should be no problem.

Edit: unless you meant 1080p/60 fps is going to be a piece of cake for the PS5 Pro and that you believe it will do native 4K/60 or something? Well that's not happening either.

It will run UE5 games in 1440p/30 or 1080p/60.

First party titles that currently are 4K/30 , 1440p/60 on the PS5 will be 4K/60 and 1440p/120 on the PS5 Pro.

$500 more for 1080p gaming🫡

@Mozelleple112: I'm only interested in your response to my last post to you.

I care not for the casuals GTA 6.

Probably a googillion.