Sony's PS5 launched back in 2020 to critical acclaim after an immensely successful generation with the PlayStation 4, and according to Sony itself, the PS5 sold over 50 million units by the end of 2023 alone.
PS5 has been celebrated for console exclusives like God of War: Ragnarok, Demon's Souls, Horizon: Forbidden West, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and so much more.
That's a lot of games! And while some of these titles have been ported to PC, it usually takes a few years before that happens. As such, the PS5 is still the best place to enjoy the greatest exclusives of the current generation.
However, despite all of that praise, there's one clear reason why I'm recommending you don't buy a PS5 in 2024.
Don't buy a PS5 in 2024
Mid-generation refreshes are a common practice by console manufacturers to sell a different version of the same system series halfway through a generation.
Considering the PS5 launched in November 2020, we're slowly approaching the console's four-year mark. Console generations typically last anywhere between six and eight years, meaning we're reaching the PS5's midpoint and it's absolutely time for a mid-generation refresh.
After all, do you remember what happened only three years after the PS4's November 2013 launch? We got a whole new console in the PS4 Pro, similarly launched in November 2016.
While Sony missed its three-year mark for the launch of the PS5 Pro, that could be a result of issues brought about by COVID-19. But now that we're about to reach November of this year before we know it, everyone in the industry has been anticipating the PS5 Pro.
This isn't just baseless speculation, as while speaking on the Game Mess Mornings show on Monday, Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb claimed that Sony would be holding a PlayStation State of Play in September. Alongside this, he claimed the PS5 Pro was still set to launch this year.
PS5 Pro: What is it and when to expect it?
The PS5 Pro is a rumored mid-generation refresh of the PS5 that is expected to yield a stronger console. We have no specifics on its hardware, but the PS4 Pro was capable of running at higher resolutions and sometimes with better performance.
We'd normally expect the same from the PS5 Pro, but Grubb also claimed that it could cost anywhere from $600 to $700. Keep in mind, the PS5 launched at $499 for its version with a disc drive, and its disc-less version was $399.
That's a huge price difference, and things get even more intense when considering that the PS4 Pro launched at $399. It launched only three years after the PS4, while the PS5 Pro might launch four years after the PS5 yet could be a few hundred dollars more expensive.
What does this mean? If Grubb's information is accurate, the PS5 Pro will be a pretty powerful console, capable of amazing things. There are plenty of reasons why its price could be so high, potentially having to do with a stronger GPU or more storage, but we won't know the exact reason until we see it for ourselves.
As far as when to expect it, a November launch seems pretty likely considering the PS4, PS4 Pro, PS5, and PS5 Slim all launched in November of their respective years.
What does this mean for the future of gaming?
The PS5 Pro could have a huge impact on console gaming. If it is $600, Sony hasn't charged that much for a console since the original PS3 launched, and it hasn't done that again due to the poor reception it received for the high cost. And if it is $700, that's a price that the company has never hit in its console launches.
It makes us wonder what this could mean for the PS6. If Sony finds success in selling a console at prices as high as $600 or $700, would the company have no issue making the base PS6 cost around that much? This is nothing more than just a fear based on rumors for now, but it's good to keep in mind.
Beyond just that, PS5 Pro will have some tight competition in the next 12 months. We know the Nintendo Switch successor will receive some news within the fiscal year, which means by March 2025, and the Xbox Series X refresh, codenamed Brooklin, is also rumored to launch this year.
