https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfoundry-2024-how-playstation-5-pro-lays-the-groundwork-for-ps6-and-beyond
Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter:
“If you're going to skip PS5 Pro but will likely get a PS6, the arrival of an enhanced machine is likely very good news for you.
Looking at the criticisms of PS5 Pro today, I am reminded of the massive backlash against Nvidia's RTX 20-series products based on the Turing architecture back in 2018. The products were pricey, nobody bought into the AI narrative, ray tracing was derided. And yet today, DLSS upscaling has proven to be one of the most transformative technologies in the PC space - a desired feature for users and coveted by the competition. Ray tracing? With smart technological innovations, an immense level of investment in software like ReSTIR and strategic partnerships with key game makers, Nvidia brought actual path tracing to triple-A games.
Sony has taken the smart path here, delivering the custom silicon required where AMD did not seem to have any, while at the same time developing PlayStation Spectral Resolution (PSSR) on the software side. We've now been 'eyes on' with PSSR across a range of games and while there's still work to be done in improving it, it's a big leap beyond existing upscaling solutions. But we shouldn't forget that the machine learning hardware isn't just a fixed function AI upscaling block - it can be used for all manner of tasks. PSSR delivers the biggest bang for the buck, but it's just the beginning.
We are looking at such a big change here that absolutely we should be looking at PlayStation 5 Pro as the console that sets the ball rolling for Sony in an area of crucial importance. I'd even venture to suggest that PlayStation 6 may even need PlayStation 5 Pro to exist for this evolution to happen. Sony's technology groups need time to develop technologies like PSSR and to ship them and to refine them. Meanwhile, developers need to grow accustomed to these technologies instead of simply focusing on them for their PC games.
We've now seen enough of the machine to say with some level of conviction that it does what Sony says it does - but more than that, with titles like F1 24, there's evidence that those that target the hardware specifically will see much bigger boosts than simply 'fidelity mode at 60fps'.
PS5 Pro doesn't answer the value question conclusively - not yet - but it's delivering clearly superior results to base hardware. More holistically though, today's added enhancements may well be laying the foundation work for the viability of 10th generation console hardware - and in that sense, its importance shouldn't be underestimated.”
