The PS4 Pro Was a Test Case for the PS5 Life Cycle
During a recent Game Informer interview for the 25th birthday of PlayStation, Executive Vice President of Hardware Engineering and Operation at Sony Interactive Entertainment, Masayasu Ito, gave insight into development of next-gen. Apparently the PS4 Pro was a test case for the PS5 lifecycle, showing Sony the benefits of advancements in technology midway through a console generation. PS5 will be releasing next year during the Holiday season and it will likely receive a PS5 Pro halfway through its life cycle.
According to Masayasu Ito, the current generation was expected to last seven to ten years but with advancements in technology, PlayStation had to release an updated version of the PlayStation 4 halfway through the life cycle. “we cannot fully catch up with the rapid development of the technology, therefore our thinking is that as far as a platform is concerned for the PS5, it’s a cycle of maybe six to seven years,” said Ito. “But doing that, a platform lifecycle, we should be able to change the hardware itself and try to incorporate advancements in technology. That was the thinking behind it, and the test case of that thinking was the PS4 Pro that launched in the midway of the PS4 launch cycle.”
Similar to how the Switch Lite is helping boost sales of the Nintendo Switch family of consoles, the PS4 Pro gave PlayStation a boost in sales when it released and continues to sell well as people upgrade their TV’s and computer monitors. Alongside advancements in technology comes reduced prices for older technology and it’s likely that what’s expensive for Sony to produce for the launch of next-gen will be much more affordable by the time they launch the PS5 Pro.
Do you hope to see a PS5 Pro or do you think mid-life cycle units confuse consumers? What sequel do you want to see from next-gen? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: Game Informer