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PS5 Pro developer verdict: ‘I didn’t meet a single person that understood the point of it’

Monkfish877

Member
Damn right!!!, It's 2024 and I'm still waiting for a Ps5 game with "next gen graphics." PS5's power hasn't even been utilised fully, so what's the point of a pro model?
 

Roxkis_ii

Member
Heard similar things about the PS Portal, and yet…

It’s not for everyone to understand, or even accept. For others, it is a welcome addition.
I can go on Facebook market place right now and find 20 people selling them for $250. Them selling out isn't a real metric of interest and popularity, especially when it looks like it got snatched up by a bunch of scalpers.
 
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I mean didn't Nintendo just get away with a Switch that can't switch and an Oled model that's just a screen upgrade ?

Nintendo-Switch-vs-Switch-OLED-vs-Switch-Lite.jpg


tumblr_mda2clHDNv1rqnoczo1_400.gif
I would argue that going from LCD to OLED is a bigger visual upgrade than what we’re going to see from PS5 to PS5 pro.
 

sendit

Member
This is why I eyeroll every time I hear about a pro console. Have the current ones even been pushed at all yet? (I suspect NO)
Creatively in game design? No. The biggest change going in to this gen was the speed in which data traversed and decompressed from SSD to VRAM.

Graphically? Yes, these consoles have already been pushed to it's limits. We can see that in a multitude of games struggling to run at 30 FPS. We won't see games that look much better than Horizon Forbidden West.
 
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Topher

Identifies as young
16 raster teraflops is far too weak for a "Pro" console 4 years later. They've basically built an overclocked PS5 with an M-cable built into it. It is indeed pretty pointless.

How is it overclocked when the clocks have barely changed? You think m-cable is the same as modern GPU upscaling tech?
 
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Buggy Loop

Member
What I don't understand is why there is so much problem with PS5 pro, every year the hardware of PC, mobile phones, TV, etc. is updated without a problem but a PS5 improved 4 years ago seems to make no sense, because looking at the resolutions of certain games to reach 60fps on PS5 and Series X, I think it makes all the sense in the world.

PC GPU gens aren't what they used to be though, and while there's low range / upper range iterations in the following year, mobile chipsets, etc, that stretch the product stack beyond the desktop segment, it's realistically more like a 2 year gen.

Fermi 2010-2012
Kepler 2012-2014
Maxwell 2014-2016
Pascal 2016-2018
Turing 2018-2020
Ampere 2020-2022
Ada 2022-2025(?)

And if you notice, the massive dominant gens such as Pascal created an oscillation much like car traffic stop-go where peoples skip the following gen. Ampere even amplified this as it was the work at home craze. Ada suffers more than Turing because of that.

Pascal - GO
Turing - stop
Ampere - GO
Ada - Stop
Blackwell - ?

So PC gamers seem fine in a ~4 years interval, even if there's tsunamis of product stacks released each years, the biggest adoptions seems to be in the range of 4 years.

If most devs cannot flex hardware on PS5 base, those pixel soup messy console titles (often messy too on PC as a result) won't be fixed by better hardware.

If devs don't understand what to do with better hardware or that the problems are beyond just GPU power, it probably means that even upgrading to Blackwell in 2025 might not make much sense. Where will be the games to push it? The console gen is one of the slowest in graphical improvement in history, it'll definitely impact PC also long term.
 

splattered

Member
I mean if devs at GDC are saying this stuff then maybe Spencer wasn't crazy for saying the same thing about the Series X and not really needing a mid-gen refresh yet cause the full potential isn't even being realized on current consoles. Makes more sense then just to make a damn good portal xbox and accelerate development on the next gen Xbox.
 

proandrad

Member
Devs:
"I don't even see the point of this"

Same devs:
"So anyway here is our newest game at 720p upscaled with FSR and running at rock solid 42fps"

Sony and Microsoft need to implement higher technical standards before a game can go gold.
 

Topher

Identifies as young
I mean if devs at GDC are saying this stuff then maybe Spencer wasn't crazy for saying the same thing about the Series X and not really needing a mid-gen refresh yet cause the full potential isn't even being realized on current consoles. Makes more sense then just to make a damn good portal xbox and accelerate development on the next gen Xbox.

I think Phil Spencer says that because he knows now that winning the power war isn't going to win the console war for Xbox. Remember how he bragged to Nadella about Xbox after the PS5 specs reveal? If the power delta was making Xbox compete with PlayStation, you can be damn sure Microsoft would have a mid-gen refresh to maintain that advantage.
 
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I think Phil Spencer says that because he knows now that winning the power war isn't going to win the console war for Xbox. Remember how he bragged to Nadella about Xbox after the PS5 specs reveal? If the power delta was making Xbox compete with PlayStation, you can be damn sure Microsoft would have a mid-gen refresh to maintain that advantage.

Of course....

Even if MS releases a powerhouse mid-gen it's not gonna make any difference. The Xbox platform has no value, it's dead
 

Aenima

Member
The only point is just to make sure devs have an extra excuse when games run like shit on the base PS5. Fucking hate mid gen hardware.
 

Topher

Identifies as young
Of course....

Even if MS releases a powerhouse mid-gen it's not gonna make any difference. The Xbox platform has no value, it's dead

I wouldn't go that far, but I do think Microsoft has to try something different if they are going to stay in hardware. Then again, we've already had Sarah Bond making grandiose claims about the capabilities of the next Xbox so I'm not sure Microsoft has learned anything. Doing the same thing over and over again....

the simpsons cupcake GIF
 

Haint

Member
How is it overclocked when the clocks have barely changed? You think m-cable is the same as modern GPU upscaling tech?
I'm obviously being hyperbolic to emphasize the points that the claimed 40% improvement in raster is very small, and 4 years is a long time in technology. But yes, 40% gains did use to be in line with what you could achieve overclocking CPUs or GPUs. Furthermore, given AMDs track record in demonstrating stunning incompetence WRT upscaling, I'm not going to say it's a guarantee to blow devices like M-Cable out if the water. For example if Nvidia made an HDMI "Shield-Cable" it could probably outperform the Pro's solution.
 
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Sushi_Combo

Member
So you forgot what happened with the PS4Pro? Maybe the tap water where you live is not top quality, I’d say.
Different economic environments, most people are not going to opt for this, it will cater to just a very small community of gamers. In any case, we will see the outcome if it does release this year.
 
Here is why they are doing it....
  • Allows Sony to recoup R&D investment for PS6 tech early (e.g. PSSR)
  • Allows devs to become familiar with PS6 tech prior to PS6 launch, so they can have a real impact on PS6 at launch
  • Somewhat may stop some PS5 users looking into moving to PC
  • A certain % of PS fans will always just buy the best PS available, so Sony not doing it is leaving their money on the table
Probably other reasons people can think of too
All of this is true, but it largely depends on if they think they can sell enough PS5 Pros to justify it. If, like PS VR2, things are slow to move and they stuck with inventory and demand is really low, all of the costs associated with creating and launching new hardware would hurt them and further shrink their operating margin. So there has to be a large audience there to justify it. I'd say there's a relatively strong chance that PS5 Pro would sell maybe half of what PS4 Pro sold. There just doesn't seem to be that demand/ interest/ hunger this cycle for a Pro refresh.

Like many others on here, I am still sort of looking to see a current-gen ground-up game take full advantage of PS5, let alone is there any interest from me for a mid-gen Pro. I bought a PS4 Pro, and was largely disappointed, because many of the best games too way to long to get patches that took advantage of it. And beyond that, having a second full-strength GPU inside the PS4 Pro did nothing remotely similar to what it sounded like it should do.
 
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Radical_3d

Member
Different economic environments, most people are not going to opt for this, it will cater to just a very small community of gamers. In any case, we will see the outcome if it does release this year.
The bold stated was as true in 2016. I’ll give you that the economic environment is not the same as we, Europeans, are with an eye on Rusia. But it’s also true that a) PlayStation is the most popular ecosystem for third parties and b) this time it’s not facing any competition from Xbox. And we are in 2024 where PSPortal the most outrageous machine with the worst value proposition is sold out. I’m afraid I’ll have problems to grab one day one.
 

Ceadeus

Member
Everyone has different experience getting mid gen upgrade. I sure do remember getting the ps4 pro. Regretting my purchase, getting underwhelming upgrades over an handful of titles. Like 5 or 6 games. Most of the upgrades weren't frame rate boost but a checkerboard 4k.

The best upgrades were to the psvr image quality. But this time the PSVR2 already has good image clarity but then its library sucks. The peripheral ain't supported anymore by Sony or it's just a matter of time, really.

So yeah I'll most likely be skipping the ps5 pro.

Next purchase should be Switch 2! HERE WE GOOOO! BOING BOING
mario GIF


Edit: if you are upgrading to PS5 Pro, what new unannounced console features would make you excited the most?
 
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Iced Arcade

Member
After last Gen pro consoles and their minimal gains, fuck that I'll save my money personally. But I get there is a market for people who just like buying the new things on the market.

On a side note... Remember when developers works with what they had and optimized the shit out of it. 360/PS3 made magic out of 512mb of ram.
 

OuterLimits

Member
Uh, isn't the real question here actually why the hell are developers saying they weren't really making the most of the PS5 in the first place? Why haven't they been doing that? Why are the ones responsible for making the most of the PS5 casually saying they aren't making the most of the PS5 without any sort of explanation?

"This generation doesn't even seem to have been started" YOU ARE responsible for that! He needs to ask the damn publishers why they apparently haven't started the generation ffs

The answer is somewhat mentioned in the article. This generation doesn't feel 4 years old because of Covid and the following severe supply chain issues. This generation has included a very long "cross-gen" period where developers had to make the games playable on the old PS4 with a shitty ancient Jaguar CPU. Only recently have we seen the cross gen period largely ending.

Plus, even without the unique challenges this generation, it is often the case that games released later in console generations are far more impressive and make the most out the hardware.
 

omegasc

Member
After last Gen pro consoles and their minimal gains, fuck that I'll save my money personally. But I get there is a market for people who just like buying the new things on the market.

On a side note... Remember when developers works with what they had and optimized the shit out of it. 360/PS3 made magic out of 512mb of ram.
last gen was a resolution bump, basically (still worth it: I loved the PS4 Pro). The reason I am looking forward to this one is to see what will be done with the "new techs" like AI upscaling, frame gen, and ray tracing in the console space. I guess I like games and tech! :messenger_beaming:
 

Dorfdad

Gold Member
Such a rubbish piece of fluff. Tell me ONE true game designer that doesn't like having more power in a closed system that will let them expand their game to fill their visions? NOT one would say no we dont want more tools / power / GPU / Ram speeds were good with what we have.

The ones saying this are studios / developers who don't want to invest in anything new. New hardware means more resources and training. A lot of developers are already feeling the pinch of today's markets and costs, adding another Sku to them means more work. That's what they don't want. Hell they dont even optimize existing hardware properly. Asking them to add more bells and whistles to shit code is probably asking too much. So don't blame SONY for providing an improvement. Don't blame the customer who can't even get stable 30FPS in games and demand more from their 69.99 games or PC players who spend 3K+ on new GPUS and modern games can't even run proper 60FPS.

Maybe development cycles are to short now I can agree on that, and maybe they need to offer more modular consoles going forward to allow GPU / CPU upgrades over Base systems, but still walled in. I don't know the answer obviously but them saying No one sees a need for them is pure bullshit.

PS I'll get flack but just go CLOUD with next gen so you can keep adding shit on the backend and consumers will not need to keep investing in systems, just your ecosystem. it will constantly evolve.
🛋️🛡️:lollipop_raising_hand:
 
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kruis

Exposing the sinister cartel of retailers who allow companies to pay for advertising space.
Shortly after returning from GDC, GamesIndustry.biz editor Christopher Dring appeared in a podcast, in which he claimed that when speaking to developers, ‘I’ll be honest, I didn’t meet a single person that understood the point of it.’

Developers didn’t seem to feel they needed it’, he said. ‘They weren’t really making the most of the PS5 in the first place,’ he added.[/quote]


I hate to use the term "lazy devs", but the abominably poor performance of so many PS5 exclusives is exactly why a PS5 Pro is needed. The PS5 is now more than three years on the market and I still feel next gen hasn't started yet. There are far too many PS5 games that look like PS4 games yet somehow perform worse. Worst console gen ever.
 
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Oh, you already know it's gonna be 1%???

LOL

We will see what happens this Christmas
Look at how PS4 Pro sold when it had a legit reason to exist: 4K resolution. Also, price will be a huge factor in how much it will sell. At $599 it'll likely sell less than PS4 Pro did, and @ $699 it'll only sell to tech adopters, aka a very low percent of the fan base.

At best, scalper bots will buy up early stock and give the appearance of healthy sales.
 

KXVXII9X

Member
They have been saying almost everything I have been saying since the PS5 Pro rumors started.

I don't think both the PS5 and XSX have been used to their potential and I think throwing more power at a problem is due to a lack of creativity and vision.

There is a reason the Switch has done extremely well despite being underpowered. It has a steady stream of great software and doesn't need the most cutting-edge tech. I don't think more powerful systems will automatically bring new gameplay ideas and advancements. Especially, since there is talk about just relying on old IP's and playing it safer.

The best kinds of games will make the most of what they have to work with due to out of the box thinking.
 


I hate to use the term "lazy devs", but the abominably poor performance of so many PS5 exclusives is exactly why a PS5 Pro is needed. The PS5 is now more than three years on the market and I still feel next gen hasn't started yet. There are far too many PS5 games that look like PS4 games yet somehow perform worse. Worst console gen ever.

Ghost Of Tsushima Looks better than this game and It's a PS4 game.

The Pro will never fix poor man's work.
 

Luipadre

Gold Member


I hate to use the term "lazy devs", but the abominably poor performance of so many PS5 exclusives is exactly why a PS5 Pro is needed. The PS5 is now more than three years on the market and I still feel next gen hasn't started yet. There are far too many PS5 games that look like PS4 games yet somehow perform worse. Worst console gen ever.


When they revealed these consoles everyone was happy, but the only good thing came out of it was the SSD and loading speeds. We had better image quality in the PS4 pro era ffs
 
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