xxxx
Sony has long been tipped to introduce a new version of the PlayStation 5 before a generational replacement. And so, it seems, a PS5 Pro is looming ever more likely as the months tick by.
But what do we know about the mid-generational machine? The PS4 Pro had a fairly obvious advantage over its stablemate at the time, it sported a much beefier GPU and ability to render some games at 4K.
In comparison, the PS5 is still an excellent powerhouse of a games console and it's highly unlikely that we'll have such a big bump in resolution. So, what new capabilities can the Pro bring to the table that would make it worth the upgrade?
Well, according to several reports, including one at PlayStation LIfestyle, it might feature on-board AI upscaling and that is a literal game-changer.
The idea is that it will use hardware-enabled AI processing that can take games running at a lower resolution and intelligently increase the pixel count without developers needing to implement the extra detail themselves. This means processing power can be better spent on higher frame rates, but you still get some top-notch ultra HD images.
Now Sony hasn't confirmed this or any other rumour surround the potential new PlayStation, but those reporting on it cite a quote from the chief technical officer of AMD, Mark Papermaster.
He said, "We have just completed AI enabling our entire portfolio – you know, cloud, Edge, PCs, and our embedded devices and gaming devices." And, considering the PS5 Pro will almost certainly run on a custom AMD chipset, much like the existing PS5, it will surely be included.
Also, it is commonly believed that the PS5 Pro will launch later this year, which matches Papermaster's timetable: "We are enabling our gaming devices to upscale using AI and 2024 is really a huge deployment year. So now the bedrock’s there, the capabilities are there," he added.
This added to the fact that Sony is reportedly approaching publishers with details on a new console does suggest we might find out more soon. Certainly, the presence of hardware-accelerated AI upscaling would be a feature to prompt some to upgrade – especially if it worked retrospectively on owned games.
Exciting times.
