There were two big stories on the ground in GDC This year: flat Xbox branding and PS5 Pro purpose. Speaking as part of the podcast, GamesIndustry.biz Well-connected reporter Christopher Dring noted that he didn't meet “a single person” at the show who understood the point of Sony's mid-range upgrade, which is rumored to be coming later this year.
He explained that he expects “PS5 fans” to upgrade, so there are inherent advantages for Sony. But game makers are struggling to get excited about the system. “Developers don't seem to really feel they need it, at least the ones I've talked to,” he revealed. “Many feel like they're not getting the most out of their PS5 in the first place.”
Due to the fallout from the pandemic and extremely long development cycles, we haven't really seen a large number of tentpole PS5 exclusives yet. “A couple of companies said this won't grow the market, won't move the needle,” Dring shrugged. “It feels like this generation hasn't even really taken off, let alone felt the need for a mid-gen update. What if we got some native next-gen software up and running?”
The journalist later clarified that he imagined Sony had reasonable expectations for the update, and the company knew it would likely have niche general appeal. As mentioned earlier, there will likely be innovative new features like PlayStation Spectralsolution to improve the ability of performance modes in titles like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. So, if that kind of thing appeals to you, you probably belong to a small segment of the market that PlayStation is targeting.
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