Sony is rumored to be preparing to release the PlayStation 5 pro version sometime later this year at much cheaper prices than previously expected.
The development comes despite the company cutting its forecast for sales of its flagship console. Furthermore, the move is said to be designed to boost interest in the PlayStation 5 while also offering a more powerful version of hardware that would be ready for the release of Grand Theft Auto VI next year.
Even while expectations of a new console continue to rise, the gaming company is struggling with a big issue, which is that profit margins at its key gaming business are sitting near decade lows.
The PlayStation 5 was first released in November 2020 and the gaming company cut its forecast of the console's sales for the fiscal year ending in March from 25 million units to 21 million units. Last week, one executive said during Sony's earnings call that it is expecting a "gradual decline" in unit sales from the next fiscal year, as per CNBC.
When a similar situation happened in past console cycles, gaming companies have looked to bring out a refreshed piece of hardware in an effort to reinvigorate sales. One instance is when Sony launched a "Pro" version of the PlayStation 4 roughly three years after the base model was initially launched.
In a statement, the CEO of Tokyo-based games consultancy Kantan Games, Serkan Toto, said that there seems to be a broad consensus in the gaming industry that Sony is already preparing to launch a pro version of its latest console.
He added that the gaming company would most likely want to make sure to have a great piece of hardware ready when the GTA VI game, which is one of the most hotly anticipated games of the decade, comes out.
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Cheaper Price for Better Performance
Sony has so far launched a slightly upgraded PS5 model last year as well as a handheld console known as the PlayStation Portal. However, a pro version of the base model is expected to be a much larger upgrade.
Previously leaked information suggests that the pro version is expected to come with eight-core Zen 2 CPUs which clock in at 4GHz, an RDNA 3 GPU at 2.8 GHz, as well as 16GB of 18,000 MT/s GDDR6 memory with a bandwidth of 587 GB/s, according to Gaming Bible.
With the rumors of its specifications and potential release date, another point of discussion is the pro model's price. However, a leaker, Moore's Law is Dead, said that Sony is planning to sell the upgraded version of its console without a disc drive for only $499.
Furthermore, rumors suggest that the price cut for the PlayStation 5 Slim could bring its price down from $449 to $399. This development is not as surprising considering that much of the hardware is the same, which means that the company will not have to change too much.
The relatively cheap price, which is still up for speculation, also comes as the pro version is expected to be as powerful as an AMD RX 7800 XT in terms of performance, running on a 4nm wafer, which could make the console more performant, said Dexerto.
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