Rumors revolve around new models of PlayStation 5 consoles. It’s time to take stock of the possible PlayStation 5 Slim and PlayStation 5 Pro. Release date, power, price: are we to believe the rumors?
Since the release of its first PlayStation, Sony has consistently delivered major overhauls to its mid-generation consoles. This resulted in a completely new design and a reduction in the volume of the machine. With the PS4 Pro, Sony had even dabbled in creating a more powerful mid-gen console to drive 4K displays.
Now, what does the manufacturer have in store for the PS5 generation? Rumors abound on the subject, but market reality could limit Sony’s options.
A PlayStation 5 Slim: a new model not so thin
The first idea is that of a new design for the PlayStation 5. This would respect the tradition of Sony. The rumors here mainly come from leaker and journalist Tom Handerson, who got his start on game leaks. Battlefield et Obligations. According to its sources, Sony is preparing the launch of a new model of PlayStation 5 to replace the two models currently on the market.
Effectively, this new model of PlayStation 5 would no longer have its built-in disc player, instead Sony would offer an optional external Blu-ray player. Enough to allow merchants to stock a single bulk console reference, thus expediting the supply of machines. Sony could take the opportunity to change the design of its console and offer something more compact.
No price drop
However, back in 2020, Xbox engineers warned against hoping for slimline consoles that would lower prices for this generation. Previously, slimline consoles were accompanied by a significant drop in console price. From now on, the technological developments that make it possible to reduce the size of the machines no longer translate into a reduction in the cost of manufacturing. Otherwise.
If the idea of a new PlayStation 5 has its share of credibility, it’s too early to really envision a major design change. Above all, the price should stay very close to today’s average price of 500 euros (450 euros for the Digital model, 550 euros for the standard model).
no name change
As for the PlayStation 4 at the time, Sony shouldn’t give this model a particular name. In fact, if we can often see “PS4 Slim” on the market to designate the second generation of PlayStation 4 consoles, Sony has never officially adopted this name. For Sony, there were only two consoles in the previous generation: PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro.
Here, Sony should be content with marketing a new PlayStation 5.
PlayStation 5 Pro: are we to believe it?
AMD, which supplies the chips for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, continues to work to offer increasingly powerful components. Since the Zen 2/RDNA 2 chip currently found in game consoles, AMD has launched two generations of CPU architectures (Zen 3 and Zen 4) and one generation of GPUs (RDNA 3). Therefore, we can wonder when the consoles will be able to take advantage of these new features.
A job posting opened by AMD in May 2022 indicates that development of next-generation SoCs for consoles is well underway.
When will the PS5 Pro be released?
According to the website android phonequoting a sourcenear the file“A PS5 Pro would be scheduled for this month of April 2023. The medium indicates, however, that it is necessary to take their assertions”with huge claws».
What would be the design of the PS5 Pro?
This name suggests that it would be a more efficient new PlayStation 5 console than previous models. The site indicates in particular that this model could be entitled to a liquid cooling system, that is to say water cooling. This type of cooling is already used in desktop PCs, but it has never been seen in a machine that sells at such a high volume as a game console.
at what price?
At what price could Sony market this PlayStation 5 Pro? The article does not advance on a sale price. If Sony does not change the price of the PlayStation 5, we can imagine a PlayStation 5 Pro whose price would take off at least 600 or 650 euros in France. A price rarely reached for a game console in our market. The manufacturer would even exceed the psychological bar of 600 euros that had done so much damage to the PS3 when it was launched.
PS5 Pro: why we don’t believe it
Sony has not yet given signs of the launch of a possible new game console and less of a model that would be more efficient.
We have to admit that we find it hard to believe the theory of a PS5 Pro. In fact, what would such a console be for Sony in today’s market? Instead, the giant is looking to sell as many of the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition as possible and is about to complete the transition by dropping PS4 support on its new games.
Adding a PlayStation 5 Pro to the catalog would mean once again cutting the installed base while it is still in its infancy, and would further complicate the work of developers. The latter can simply ditch the PlayStation 4 and thus take full advantage of the capabilities of the PlayStation 5.
What need?
Above all, the PlayStation 5 Pro would not cover any need today. Sony’s current console, like Microsoft’s, can run games in 4K thanks to a Dynamic Picture Definition system, most often with a 60FPS mode available.
The PlayStation 4 Pro was released because the installed base of 4K displays was growing rapidly. The same cannot be said for 8K TVs.
What is Sony’s strategy?
For all these reasons, the idea of a new PlayStation 5 without a drive that would allow Sony to rationalize its production and its stocks seems more credible. The goal for the giant is above all to grow the installed base of PS5 and supply the markets correctly.
Segmenting the production of PS5 a little more for a market where the need does not seem clearly identifiable and complicating the lives of developers seems against the company’s strategy. We can even estimate that neither Sony nor Microsoft will launch intermediate models on this generation of consoles with such a complex start.
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