Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they’ve been chewing over. Today, Jim celebrates Revenge of the Fifth with a DS throwback…
Hello reader who is also a reader, and welcome to Booked For The Week – our new Sunday feature where we ask a selection of cool industry folks questions about books! The very first book was famously written in the 1200’s by notable scholar and six-time wrestling world champion Booker T, a fact you’d know if you simply read more books. This week, it’s voice of Horizon Zero Dawn’s Aloy and many others, writer, singer, and endless other cool stuff, Ashly Burch! Cheers Ashly! Mind if we have a nose at your bookshelf?
Even though the PlayStation 5 Slim launch is still fairly close in the rearview mirror, many are already wondering about a potential PlayStation 5 Pro. It makes sense – platform holders like Sony have a history of releasing souped-up revisions of their flagship consoles to provide new visual and quality-of-life improvements in the middle of console generations.
Sony has not officially confirmed any details about a rumored ‘Pro’ version of the PS5. Nevertheless, we’re collecting all of the information and reporting we can find on this anticipated upgrade to keep you in the loop until an official announcement is made.
Potential PS5 Pro Release Window
In February 2024, analysts reported to CNBC that they anticipate Sony will release a ‘Pro’ variant of the PS5 in the latter half of 2024. Elsewhere, Insider Gaming has also reported that the PS5 Pro is “aiming for a tentative holiday 2024 release.” Unfortunately, there’s been no official word from Sony on this front, so it’s hard to say whether the alleged console variant will surface later this year.
A late 2024 release window for the PS5 Pro would come ahead of the planned 2025 launch of Grand Theft Auto 6, easily one of the most anticipated console games on the horizon. If the first trailer is anything to go off, GTA 6 looks like a graphically intense AAA blockbuster that would likely benefit from the upgraded hardware a ‘Pro’ PS5 could offer.
Considering the PS4 Pro launched in the latter days of the previous-gen console, it’s fair to assume the Pro model of the PS5 could follow suit. In February 2024, Bloomberg reported on Sony’s fiscal plans, quoting the brand’s senior vice president, Naomi Matsuoka. In the article, Matsuoka said, ‘Looking ahead, PS5 will enter the latter stage of its life cycle. As such, we will put more emphasis on the balance between profitability and sales. For this reason, we expect the annual sales pace of PS5 hardware will start falling from the next fiscal year.’ which runs from April 2024 to April 2025.
After years of PS5 shortages, 2023 and 2024 saw the console resume regular stocking and availability across much of the world—a relief to parents everywhere. Considering the PS6 is likely still a few years off, it would also be a fortuitous time for a new and improved PS5 to drop. It’s best not to take this information as gospel without a press release from Sony, though.
PS5 Pro Price & Models
Sony’s most recent console revision, the PlayStation 5 Slim, launched in December 2023. Like the PlayStation 5, it has a digital and disc version, with the digital version shipping at a lower price. While models haven’t been confirmed for the rumored PS5 Pro console, it wouldn’t be surprising if Sony repeated this pattern and released a digital and disc-based variant.
Without any official word about a new console revision, we can only speculate how Sony will price an upgraded variant of the PS5 at launch. Even so, the rumored ‘Pro’ tag may ensure a higher price point from the PS5 Slim model, especially if it is a more powerful piece of hardware.
Here are the prices for the PlayStation 5 Slim models for reference:
U.S.
PS5 Slim with disc drive – $500
PS5 Slim Digital Edition – $450
Europe
PS5 Slim with disc drive – €550
PS5 Slim Digital Edition – €450
U.K.
PS5 Slim with disc drive – £480
PS5 Slim Digital Edition – £390
Japan
PS5 Slim with disc drive – 66,980 JPY (includes tax)
PS5 Slim Digital Edition – 59,980 JPY (includes tax)
Despite a lack of official statements, there’s been plenty of reporting about the specifications of the rumored PlayStation 5 Pro. Alongside providing a possible launch date for the console, the leak from Moore’s Law is Dead, initially reported on by Insider Gaming and further corroborated by The Verge, featured a list of specifications to unpack.
Sources told The Verge that developers are being asked to optimize their games for the new console and that improved raytracing is a significant focus for the alleged PlayStation 5 Pro. According to The Verge’s sources, developers who “provide significant enhancements” will be able to add the ‘Trinity Enhanced’ label to their games, a reference to the console’s reported codename, Trinity. The reported specifications suggest that the PlayStation 5 Pro will feature GPU and CPU upgrades, with GPU rendering “45 percent faster than standard PlayStation 5,” according to The Verge’s reporting. The PlayStation 5 Pro’s CPU will reportedly be the same as the standard model but feature a higher-frequency mode that will afford developers more power to play with, as well as benefiting from upgrades to system memory.
Finally, The Verge’s report mentions “PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution,” a new Sony technology that apparently functions similarly to Nvidia’s DLSS upscaling and image enhancement tech. When paired with an RTX graphics card, DLSS stabilizes frame rates and boosts fidelity in PC games, and PSSR reportedly seeks to provide the same sort of solution on the rumored console revision.
Aside from the reported internal specification upgrades, little has been said about the Playstation 5 Pro’s potential design and outer casing. Considering Sony has iterated but kept the original style with the PlayStation 5 Slim, it’s fair to say we may see a similar outer shell here, too – though only time will tell.
It’s that time — welcome back to our monthly eShop Selects feature! This time, we’re covering April — somehow, we’re already in May.
As mentioned last month, we’ve made another change to the piece. Now you’ll be voting for your favourite hidden gem for the current month within this piece, rather than separately. Phew. So much change!
I need to take all the opportunities to write about Fall Guys that I can get, given how much time I spend playing it with my son. This is a pretty good opportunity, too: a set of Star Wars skins are coming to the bean battle royale, as announced yesterday on May 4th, and they coincide with some major changes to Fall Guys’ platforming physics.
Hey folks, and welcome back to another edition of Box Art Brawl!
We had a veritable doozy last week when we checked out Pokémon Yellow Version for the humble Game Boy; truly one of the standout titles in the gargantuan franchise.
Next month, Nintendo is reviving the 3DS title Luigi’s Mansion 2 on the Nintendo Switch. In the lead up to Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, it’s now uploaded a new trailer for the game titled ‘Rude Awakening’.
In this “visually enhanced” adventure for the Siwtch, Professor E.Gadd calls on Luigi after the Dark Moon is shattered:
As part of this year’s Star Wars Day celebrations, there’s currently a sale taking place on the Switch eShop in select regions. So if you’re looking for a Star Wars game to play this weekend, here’s a list of games you can currently grab on sale:
“You can score a discount on several Star Wars games right now! We hope you enjoy your adventures in a galaxy far, far away!”
The UK government has responded to a petition asking for “government intervention” to force the industry to keep video games “in a reasonably working state when support ends”, rather than allowing them to become unplayable such as when online servers are shut down. The petition was prompted by the closure in March of ten-year-old Ubisoft racing game The Crew.