“The most visually stunning way to play games on PlayStation.” Here's how Sony is pitching the PlayStation 5 Proa mid-cycle refresh that will cost a staggering $700 and, as demonstrated during an oddly-toned tech presentation, will largely allow owners to enjoy beefed-up versions of titles like The Last of Us Part II Remastered, Gran Turismo 7AND Forbidden Horizon West.
It's been a few days since the console was unveiled by PlayStation chief architect Mark Cerny, who was given less than 10 minutes to convince consumers to part with a staggering wad of cash. After spending a good chunk of that time explaining why the base PlayStation 5 is still pretty brilliant (see, there's no need to be jealous if you can't afford the upgrade), Cerny went on to gush about the Pro's premium features.
A turbocharged CPU with 45 percent faster rendering for FPS-infused gameplay. Advanced ray tracing that seemingly makes reflections and refractions look incredibly beautiful. AI-driven upscaling that sharpens images by adding detail you wouldn't believe. Sounds tempting? It depends on your disposition. Rampant technophiles who crave the best of the best won't need much convincing, but for everyone else, this is all too familiar territory, which begs the question: who Actually does it matter?
Who cares about seemingly imperceptible marginal gains when Sony hasn't even delivered on the promise of the original PlayStation 5? Where's the software? Where are the PlayStation 5 exclusives that go out the window and completely underwhelm it? It's troubling that Sony continues to rely on PlayStation 4-compatible releases to show off its shiny new box. Especially when that box doesn't even have a disc drive (backwards compatibility be damned). This isn't innovation. This is stagnation. If new hardware is any statement, this is Sony proclaiming it's run out of ideas.
Debuting the “most powerful console ever” (Cerny’s words, not mine) is only a victory if you have the software to showcase its full potential. The PlayStation 5 is only four years old, but sales have already started to decline. The PlayStation 5 Pro feels like a pious attempt to give the console a second life before it’s even started to take off. At Gamescom, I spoke to a few executives who said the industry has a worrying tendency to look to the past for inspiration rather than try something new.
The PS5 Pro is exactly that. Sony is going back to the last generation of consoles and asking to do it again, but without any real justification. The company just laid off over 1,100 employees from major studios like Naughty Dog, Insomniac, Guerrilla Games, and Bungie. Recent first-party release, ConcordIt crashed and burned within two weeks. But hey, I'm sure you'll get a solid return if you shell out $700 for a PS5 Pro.
Could the PlayStation 5 Pro reveal riches for Sony? // Image via Team Asobi | Captured by the game's developer
I bought a PlayStation 5 when it launched in 2020. Since then, I’ve only played two first-party games that feel truly new. Astro's Arcade AND Astrobot. The first is a truly wonderful showcase of the DualSense controller transposed into a miniature 3D platformer. The second is that vision fully realized. A joyous and whimsical experience from Team Asobi that proves Sony has the ingenuity to compete with the best of the genre.
It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but, by championing mechanical buffoonery and tactile silliness above all else, Astrobot It's starting to feel incredibly unique just by putting the player experience first. It's like jumping into a ball pit as a kid. It's not that deep, but that doesn't mean it isn't absolutely superb.
The irony here is that Astrobot is also sadly addicted to nostalgia. In the game, you rescue a variety of bots, many of whom are dressed up as your favorite PlayStation characters from days gone by. There’s Jak & Daxter. PaRappa the Rapper. Those pesky primates from Ape Escape. The gang is all here, but in putting those beloved characters front and center, Sony is also imploring players to ask: What happened?
Why have so many of them been relegated to fleeting cameos in what is essentially a $70 advertisement for PlayStation (albeit a very good one)? Why have the studios that brought those beloved mascots to life been destroyed by layoffs or shut down entirely? There’s no doubt that PlayStation has a rich history of innovation. Astrobot makes that abundantly clear. It also shows that there is still room to grow. Not just room, but desperate, feverish need.
You can only rely on nostalgia for a while. Ultimately, you have to take risks and dare to imagine what comes next. Safety is diminishing returns, declining franchises, and billions spent in a desperate attempt to follow trends instead of defining them. The video game industry needs its biggest players to make bold leaps. Right now, there is only repetition.
Status Report: The Headlines That Matter
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Exclusive: Unity is Eliminating Its Controversial Runtime Fee // Unity became public enemy number one last year after introducing a controversial “Runtime Fee” that essentially amounted to a per-install fee for developers using the engine. Now, nearly a year later (and with a few less executives), the company has scrapped the policy and vowed to never do anything like it again. Forgive and forget? The choice is yours.
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Report: Microsoft to lay off 650 more video game workers // Another week, another blow to anyone who cares about their livelihood. Multiple outlets have reported that Microsoft is laying off 650 employees in its video game division in a series of cuts that will significantly impact staff providing “business and support functions.” In a leaked email, Xbox chief Phil Spencer said the layoffs will help ensure “long-term success.” I feel like I’ve heard that phrase before.
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All Annapurna Interactive have resigned // In a seismic turn of events, independent publisher Annapurna Interactive has been thrown into chaos after its entire team resigned in unison. Bloomberg reports that a failed attempt to spin off the division as an independent entity sparked the wave of resignations. It's unclear at this time what this means for those developers who have signed on with the publisher.
Feature Creep: Originals and Interviews for the Discerning Reader
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Atari CEO Wade Rosen says the company is done being a 'fast follower' // What a difference a few years make. When Atari CEO Wade Rosen took the helm in 2021, the company was in a tough spot. Fluctuating financial and hardware difficulties suggested that the company’s core competency was wreaking havoc. In a recent chat, Rosen admitted that the company was directionless at that point, but said the company is no longer content to simply follow the masses and hope for the best.
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Godot's founders desperately hoped that Unity wouldn't “explode” // Open-ended goals don’t come around very often, but when they do, it’s best to get it right. The open-source Godot engine was a big beneficiary when Unity dropped the ball last year (that Runtime Fee keeps popping up today, huh?), but company founders Rémi Verschelde and Juan Linietsky told us recently that it presented a colossal challenge.