Sony blames lackluster PS5 Pro reaction on announcement being viewed on phones

Sony's announcement of the PlayStation 5 Pro received a mixed-bag reaction, with many players complaining about the showcase of the improvements with the PS5 Pro compared to the stock PS5 being almost unnoticeable.

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PlayStation's Senior Principal Product Manager Toshi Aoki sat down for a lengthy interview with IGN to explain all of the hardware improvements in the PS5 Pro and how that translates to a better gaming experiencing for players. In a nutshell, the PS5 Pro is targeting 4K at 60FPS performance, which it will achieve through upgrades to its GPU and Sony's upscaling technology called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR).

Since Sony confirmed that most players choose the performance mode over the fidelity mode, the PS5 Pro will be the solution players want - 60FPS gaming with no drop in visual fidelity or 4K at 60FPS. Given the hardware within the PS5 Pro and the performance target, why did Sony's announcement leave players unsatisfied? IGN asked Aoki this question by mentioning that not everyone is able to spot the difference between a PS5 and a PS5 Pro-enhanced game.

"When you actually see players' preferences through data, a lot of players are playing with 60 FPS because they want that smoother responsiveness, but they're not getting the resolution that they would probably want as well," said Aoki

Adding some titles, such as Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, looks noticeably better on the PS5 Pro, while other titles have substantial framerate improvements but only minimal graphical improvements. Aoki responded by saying it isn't always easy to convey such subtle graphical improvements through a video, and a part of the problem with a video is that players are likely viewing it on a small screen, such as a phone.

"It's hard to message that out with just the video clips, I think...a lot of players are seeing it on small screens or on phones...how we can showcase interactive entertainment to the players through these devices is a challenge that we all have faced," added Aoki