PS5 Pro Was In Development at Sony For a Long Time

PlayStation CEOs have commented on the PlayStation 5 Pro’s development time, and the period spent refining the enhanced console is longer than people think. Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida recently hired PlayStation veterans Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino to helm Sony Interactive Entertainment, since the pair have worked together for a long time, and they will tackle the PlayStation 5 Pro launch together. Nishino previously became head of product at SIE in 2016, advancing to lead the Platform Experience Group in 2024, and Hulst was the former boss at Guerilla Games, the team behind the Horizon series.

After a lengthy period circulating the rumor mill, the PlayStation 5 Pro was eventually announced in September 2024, via a technical presentation on PlayStation’s YouTube Channel. The high price tag quickly became a talking point within the gaming community, but the prospect of playing beloved games with the enhanced system’s visuals won a lot of people over. Recently, the critically acclaimed Dungeons & Dragons-inspired RPG and 2023’s Game of the Year Baldur’s Gate 3 was added to the PS5 Pro’s list of enhanced titles, joining Lords of the Fallen and Helldivers 2.

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During an interview with Variety, Nishino and Hulst were asked to explain the timing of the PS5 Pro’s arrival in contrast to the release of Sony’s next-gen device. Highlighting Sony’s work on the PS4 Pro, Nichino revealed the team began working on the PS5 Pro before the regular PS5 console debuted, noting that it was “another five-year project for us.” The PlayStation 5 Pro will enhance games previously released on the PS4, and the team at Sony learned a lot from last generation’s Pro console regarding how many customers went out to purchase the improved specs, including gamers who were new to PlayStation and opted for the Pro version instead of the regular one.

PlayStation Heads Reveal PS5’s Long Development Time

Ahead of its November 7 release, the PlayStation 5 Pro became the best-selling console on Amazon in October, despite the team at Sony previously deliberating over developing a Pro version of the PS5. Nishino added the evolution of technology is a lot quicker these days, and the company’s main takeaway was, “There are technologies we can grow up in three years time or five years time.” Concerning the annual mobile phone upgrades, the CEO didn’t think Sony would resort to updates every year, despite gamers’ excitement over its new tech.

As Sony prepares to launch the $700-console, the industry has pondered over the company’s competitor cooking up similar hardware, and some gamers are wondering why Microsoft is not releasing an Xbox rival to the PS5 Pro. Microsoft recently released the Series X Digital, which costs significantly less than the Xbox Series X/S. However, the company is playing its cards close to the chest in response to the PS5 Pro, possibly in a bid to release a powerful console to dominate the next generation.

PlayStation 5 Pro

Sony’s PlayStation 5 Pro is the mid-generation evolution of the PS5, one that comes with an improved GPU and 2TB of storage space. The graphics card is advertised to offer 67% more compute units than the base PS5, along with 28% faster memory. The PS5 Pro also uses AI to offer an enhanced resolution for 4K TV and Advanced Ray Tracing.

The console does not come with a disc drive or a vertical stand, both of which are sold separately.

4K Capability

Yes

What’s Included

DualSense Controller, Power Supply

Brand

Sony

Storage

2TB SSD

CPU

8-core Zen 2

Connectivity

IEEE 802.11be

Audio

Tempest 3D AudioTech (In Supported Games)

RAM

16GB

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