PS5 Pro was in the works before the launch of the standard PS5, PlayStation CEO reveals

by Danny Craig  · 
PS5 Pro was in the works before the launch of the standard PS5, PlayStation CEO reveals
Sony

Hideaki Nishino, CEO of PlayStation’s platform business group, has stated that work on the PS5 Pro model began before the standard model was even released, making it a "five-year project."

The details:

  • In an interview with Variety, Nishino discussed the PS5 Pro, Sony's mid-generation upgrade for the platform, revealing that it was already in development prior to the original system's November 2020 release. “When we were selling PS4 Pro, in addition to the PS4, 20% of customers actually got the PS4 Pro,” the co-CEO said. “It was high end, it was premium tier. So there are potential users acquiring those kind of units. Interestingly enough, it was not just about highly engaged users – actually, new users came to PlayStation to get PS4 Pro, as well. So we started working on PS5 Pro even before PS5 launched — it was another five-year project for us.”

  • Nishino then mentioned that there was some internal debate about whether or not a Pro console for the PS5 was a good decision given the rapid advancements in technology in recent years. “The main thing was, there are technologies we can grow up in three years' time, or five years' time,” Nishino said. “So the innovation and technology advancement is quicker in a modern world. Phones are updating every year, PCs are updating every year. I don't think we'd go 'every year updates', but there are things we can package together to bring the greatest things into the game console segment range. So that's the vision."

  • The co-CEO also revealed that Sony always plans ahead with its hardware, preparing for what a successor to a system will be capable of. “We design everything with having one ahead in our mind,” he explained. “It’s not like we just make a next step and we don’t know about the two steps ahead. That’s not our way of working, because we need to make sure that the 10-year-old generation cycle continues to be going as well.”

  • The PS5 Pro was announced in September and boasts a faster GPU and advanced ray tracing over the Slim model. However, it was immediately criticized for its $700 price tag, which can become even larger if players want to add a disc drive and a vertical stand.

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