The launch of thePlayStation 5 Prohasn’t been off to the best start. For many players, the purchase of a PS5 Pro already seemed like a tall order. Its shocking price of $699.99 is a hefty request, especially when taking into account the PS5 Pro’s ultimately minimal graphical enhancements, coupled with thelack of a disc drivein the base purchase.
Nevertheless, Sony has been making a conscious effort to make the purchase of a PS5 Pro seem worthwhile.A selection of popular PS5 titles have received enhancements that are said to take advantage of the Pro’s PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) and advanced ray tracingto deliver an upgraded experience for the player. Even then, certain titles have been left with noticeable issues that make a PS5 Pro purchase seem far less appealing.
Some Games Are Having Issues on PS5 Pro
Their Performance Is Worse Than On A Regular PS5
The success of the PS5 pro may have just taken a huge blow ascertain games are failing to run well on the upgraded console. A report fromVideo Games Chroniclecompiles a selection of videos and comments from players who have noticedissues withSilent Hill 2andStar Wars Jedi: Survivor, titles that are supposed to be enhanced by the PS5 Pro.Silent Hill 2struggles to run beyond 30 frames per second in quality mode, while performance mode gives the game a distracting shimmering effect, as demonstrated in a video published on Reddit by userUSDOT.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivorhas arguably suffered a worse fate. A YouTube video published byDigital Foundrycompares the game’s performance mode on both the base PS5 and the Pro version. The comparison helps to highlight the severe issues with image quality on the Pro, asJedi Survivorsuffers from a distracting shimmering effect alongside lighting problems. The video’s analyst, Oliver Mackenzie, ultimately comes to the conclusion thatthe PS5 Pro’s performance mode is worse than the old performance mode, highlighting the major issues that have come from this “enhancement.”
It’s currently unclear what could be causing the issues in these titles. Mackenzie suggests the issue could be due to PSSR’s upscaling that’s causing issues such as the shimmering effect, comparing it with an alternate upscaler on PC which doesn’t suffer from such an effect. Nevertheless, these issues will surely be frustrating for players looking for an improved experience on the PS5 Pro.
With The PS5 Pro’s price, This Is Especially Frustrating
Issues Like These Can Create Distrust In The Player
PS5 Pro’s issues with enhanced titles are likely to feel like a slap in the face for players. The new console is already asking the player to make huge compromises, paying an obscenely high price for the console, while possibly foregoing a physical library of games, lest they pay yet another $79.99 for a disc drive. These hurdles players must go through make the end result all the more frustrating as the PS5 Pro fails on its single promise.
The current situation should be a sign for Sony to ensure improvements are made in the future. If the company fails to ensure games on a PlayStation console run at an acceptable quality, while forcing players to pay high prices for the best experience, it will result in a loss of credibility for Sony.There will be a sense of distrust in the consumerthat may prevent them from making a similar purchase in the future, possibly affecting any potential success for PlayStation in the future.
Unless It’s Fixed, A PS5 Pro Purchase Doesn’t Make Sense Right Now
There’s No Telling How Long It Will Take For Issues To Resolve
It’s unclear when the issues with theenhanced PS5 titleswill be resolved.The turnaround on these issues has proven to be quite fast for certain titles, as some developers promptly respond to these issues.PlayStation Lifestylemade note of an update toMarvel’sSpider-Man 2, released by Insomniac Games just a week after the PS5 Pro enhancement was added, resolving an issue with flickering during fast travel that came with the graphical upgrade.
Thankfully,both EA and Bloober Team have also acknowledged the current issues with their respective gamesthat are causing frustration among players. A statement from theEA Star WarsX (formerly Twitter) account announced the company is “actively investigating” the issues withJedi Survivoron PS5 Pro. Meanwhile,Bloober Teamreplied to someone on X who expressed concern over the issues withSilent Hill 2, announcing the team is “working on it.” Hopefully, players will see a fairly quick resolution like Insomniac gave with their own title.
However, until a resolution is provided, there’s no point in making a PS5 Pro purchase at this time. If the console can’t currently deliver on its main appeal and instead makes the experience worse for players, then thePlayStation 5 Profails to be a worthwhile investment. Meanwhile, if Sony wants to maintain its credibility, then steps should be taken to ensure these issues don’t occur again, ensuring players can always achieve the best possible experience on its consoles.
Sources:Video Games Chronicle,USDOT/Reddit,Digital Foundry/YouTube,PlayStation Lifestyle,Electronic Arts/X,Bloober Team/X
PlayStation 5
The fifth flagship video game console from Sony Computer Entertainment, the PlayStation 5, is a part of the ninth generation of consoles. The console features full backwards compatibility with PlayStation 4 games and features a digital storefront that gives access to older generations. The console can output images at 4K resolution, with alternative options including 1440p at 120 frames per second for gameplay. This console is also known for implementing 3D audio, which allows headphones to be connected to the console for simulated spatially accurate audio.
