[If] The PS5 Pro is Struggling, Where Do We Go?
gamesreviews.comThe PS5 Pro went on sale this week. If you didn’t know, you won’t be alone. I’ve seen no advertising, no sprawl of articles convincing me to overcome my skepticism and lay down the best part of £1,000 on a console, a stand and a disc drive.
It’s the most muted console release I’ve ever seen. And as naturally happens on the internet, I’ve been told it’s either a sign that it’s overperforming or underperforming.
On the one hand, it’s readily available. This is true. It’s everywhere. Online and physical stores have loads of them available. I’ve seen stories of stores not shifting a single one.
On the other, Sony’s Hiroki Totoki told Nikkei Asia that “”I’m under the impression that the product is performing slightly stronger than the pre-orders of the PS4 Pro during the same period”. It’s not the surest of statements, but if you want to take it at face value I don’t blame you.
We’re in the early days, and I’m sure we’ll start to get the full picture in the coming days and weeks. From an in-a-bubble standpoint, it doesn’t matter if the PS5 is a roaring success or not. I’m sure they’re not losing money on each unit, and I’m sure Sony knew well in advance that this was a niche product. The PS4 Pro was a niche product, and it had the massive advantage of coming out as a new TV standard was taking off. If you bought a TV at any time after the PS4 was released, there was a good chance it was a 4K TV. That wasn’t something the PS4 took advantage of at all.
This console doesn’t need to be a massive seller. Thankfully. But it is an interesting case study for what comes next.
We’ve been through all this before. The cost of parts isn’t coming down at the rate it used to. It’s why we haven’t had an real discounts on consoles this generation. On top of parts being more expensive, the upgrades they bring are less impressive than ever. If you’re really into visuals and you want to Digital Foundry every frame, you’ll spot the difference. Many people won’t. Many wouldn’t want to.
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