PS5 Pro is set to launch this week and most people seem pretty apathetic about it. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Not that it surprises me. When the $699 console was announced - with the grim fact that it 🤡doesn’t even give y💙ou a disc drive out of the box - people were justifiably disgusted. It is a cash grab by Sony to prolong a console generation which hasn’t justified its existence in the first place.

But, because I’m both a person who writes about video games for a living and an utter fool, I pre-ordered one anyway. And the gradual drip feed of information recently from places like Digital Foundry and a steady arrival of new patch notes has me excited about playing games I have already finished, and a decent handful I haven’t. PS5 Pro is going to remove a barrier to my enjoyment 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:that I've written about before, bu⛄t more than some might realise, it’s introducing us to a feature that will no doubt define the future of console gaming.

PS5 Pro Makes PS4 Games Look Better, And That’s Neat

30th anniversary ps5 pro dualsense controllers disc drive cover and charging stand
via PlayStation

One PS5 Pro feature that was buried within an overlong after its reveal was the ‘Game Boost’ feature, which is poised to support over 8,500 titles by inc🍸reasing resolution and image quality natively. Exactly how extensive this feature is and whether it will make any meaningful difference remains to be seen, but now we have our f⛎irst example of it in action.

This 🍨past weekend saw a , with the Pro appearing somewhat sharper and more defined.

Bloodborne on the PS5 Pro
Credit @Okami13_

The change is pretty subtle, all things considered, but I expected it to be. Instead of issuing a patch -✱ and that would be lovely, don’t get me wrong - PS5 Pro seems to instead use AI to upscale titles we already own so they better resemble a native 4K image. Or at the very least, go beyond their 1080p origins. It’s a shame that performance doesn’t follow suit, or whether this will be supported in the future. If it is, entire libraries could be transformed.

Considering we are now staring down the barrel of a digital future where we purchase silly licences fo𒁏r video games rather than owning them outright, at least work is being put in on the technology side to keep things both presentable and playable. Bloodborne is almost𒉰 a decade old at this point and has always suffered from just-about-okay performance and frame pacing, and now, at the very least, it looks better.

ratchet-and-clank-rift-apart-rivet-and-clank.jpg
A screenshot of Rivet and Clank looking with concern in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.

Much like the PS4 Pro, I think my excitement for this new console comes from what it can retroactively do to older games, rather than improving my experience with new ones.📖 It’s like how the Switch OLED changed my perspective on portable gaming because it looks so substantially better that going back now feels impossible.

If the same can be done to other games from past generations, including those on PS1, PS2, PSP, and PS3, it’s the best future we can hope for in a world where na♏tive hardware and physical copies are becoming so damn rare. But this also speaks to another, more prominent feature of the PS5 Pro, and one that will no doubt have the biggest impact: PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution. God, what a rid🔯iculous name.

PSSR Is Going To Change Console Gaming Forever

One of the big selling points of the PS5 Pro is eradicating the middle man that is having to pick between Graphics and Performance modes🌄 in modern video games. This has been normal for almost a decade now, as triple-A blockbusters are forced to make concessions to reach 4K resolution or achieve a high framerate. You can’t do both, at least not with the power of modern hardware, so the PS5 Pro is a very expensive solu🐠tion to that problem.

PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) is part of how this is achieved by using AI upscaling to provide sharper image quality and visuals without sacrifi🏅cing performance. It also gets bolstered by more powerful hardware on the base level, but this intends to take it further. PC gaming has been using this technology for years with DLS♉S, which also allows you to achieve much higher performance and image quality than your machine will ever be capable of on its own. It feels like magic, and in practice, looks like it too.

marvel-s-spider-man-2-peter-with-his-hand-on-miles-shoulder.jpg

I’m honestly more curious to see how PS5 Pro will improve i꧒mage quality for some of its PSVR 2 titles, since those would benefit most from such a drastic improvement.

AI-driven upscaling combined with more powerful hardware is likely to become common in the years to come, especially for PlayStation and Xbox as they strive to make games run or look better while keeping costs down. The technology is primitive on consoles right now, so PlayStation is smart enough to spearhead its implementation and get🙈 a head start long before others come knocking. I’d be shocked if Microsoft didn’t include something similar in its upcoming consoles, or is now kicking itself for ﷺletting Sony beat it to the punch.

Unfortunately for us, triple-A gaming remains ෴in a place where corporꦅations are chasing old trends and live services in favour of profits, while single-player blockbusters take too long or cost too much to make. So much so that we will eventually hit an unsustainable breaking point. PS5 Pro has to be aware of that conservation and should serve to make the lives of developers a bit easier.

ellie-in-the-last-of-us-part-2.jpg

With PSSR doing some of the legwork regarding o𓆏ptimisation, hopefully it’ll make things smoother. We’ll definit𝓡ely be seeing the differences as consumers, and if it proves to have enough impact even with just hardcore enthusiasts picking up PS5 Pro, that’ll be enough.

PlayStation 5 Pro Tag Page Cover Art
Brand
So♛ny PlayStation
Storage
2TB SSD
VR Support
💧 PlayStation VR2 𓄧
Resolution
Up to 8K
App Store
PlayStatio🅘n Store 🤡
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 7

With the PlayStation®5 Pro console, the world’s greatest game creators can enhance their games with incredible features like advanced ray tracing, super sharp image clarity for your 4K TV, and high frame rate gameplay. That means you get to play PS5® games with the most impressive visuals ever possible on a PlayStation® console.

PS5® Pro is an all-digital console with no disc drive. Sign into your account for PlayStation™Network and go to PlayStation™Store to buy and download games. You can also add a Disc Drive to your PS5® Pro console if you wou✱ld li🍸ke to play PS5 or PS4 games on Blu-ray™ Disc, or if you want to watch movies and shows on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray™ Discs, Blu-ray™ Discs, and DVDs.