Sony just launched its ‘new’-ish upgrade to the PS4 console, the PS4 Pro last week. This is one of the rare times that Sony has upgraded its console before the usual 6-year refresh cycle.
With minor updates, the PS4 Pro isn’t as eventful as the statements which came from Sony management that the company sees PC, and not the Xbox One, as its biggest competitor. Sony Interactive Entertainment chief Andrew House told The Guardian,
“I saw some data that really influenced me, it suggested that there’s a dip mid-console life cycle where the players who want the very best graphical experience will start to migrate to PC, because that’s obviously where it’s to be had. We wanted to keep those people within our ecosystem by giving them the very best and very highest.”
This statement shows how the company is now completely wary that PC Gaming isn’t extinct and that it does not see the Xbox One taking away its majority market stake any time soon. The Xbox One was caught up in a series of controversies leading up to 2013; the major resultant of its sales compared to the PS4.
Despite this move of launching a PS4 Pro for $399 and a slim version for $299, it seems skeptical to me that older users will, in fact, replace their consoles to get the new one. Replacing a graphics card and CPU is still cost-effective, and PC gamers will prefer that over getting an upgraded console. PS4.5, if you may.
Either way, it brings focus to the point that it is 2016, and console internals still can’t be upgraded by users. While that may not be a possibility in the near future, we may most certainly see the refresh cycle shortening to just three years as we approach a rapid extinction rate for gaming hardware.
Another surprising revelation is that the company refused to confirm that the PS4 Pro is the last upgrade in the PS4 series, opening up chances for more in this space.
