Rumor: PS5 Pro specs leaked out, dev kits go out in 11/2023, release 11/2024

[DonFerrari]

shikamaru317 said:

Norion said:

If there is a PS5 Pro I don't see that happening since not only ceding the power advantage but letting them have an outright big advantage in that regard for the 2nd half of the generation would be a significant disadvantage. 

Xbox's hands are kind of tied at this point because they did 2 consoles from the start of the gen. Their options basically are:

• Force developers to support 3 different Xbox Series spec tiers, S, X, and a new Pro tier. (This would anger a fair few devs, as some of them are already saying that Series S is a burden for them to develop for, if you make them support a 3rd Xbox console they may just decide to drop Xbox support altogether)
• Drop the requirement that devs make a Series S version of games and then release an Xbox Series Pro system more powerful than PS5 Pro. (This would anger Series S owners, as they were promised a full generation of game support, yet would only be getting that full generation of support from Xbox 1st and 2nd party devs, most 3rd parties would choose to drop Series S if Xbox dropped the requirement that devs support it)
• Stick with just Series S and Series X, and instead focus on making Xbox Series the pricing king this gen. They could drop Series S down to $250 soon and eventually $200 later this gen. They could drop Series X down to $400 later this year and then $350 next Holiday when PS5 Pro releases (or maybe release a cheaper, digital Series X model for $350 instead), which would make Series X the best price/performance console next Holiday, with specs that are only about 30-35% below PS5 Pro most likely, but priced probably $250 cheaper than PS5 Pro.

It's also worth noting that even if they choose to respond with a Pro console of their own, since one doesn't appear to already be in R&D based on recent Xbox statements, that it would basically take them 2 years from now to R&D and release the console, meaning that it would be releasing a year later than PS5 Pro itself, just like One X vs PS4 Pro. Releasing an Xbox Pro console Holiday 2025 just isn't a great idea, as the next gen Xbox console and PS6 will likely be Holiday 2028 releases, meaning people would be shelling out a likely $600 for a console that would only last the 3 remaining years of this generation and then the cross-gen period at the start of next-gen. They really needed to do a 2024 release for a Pro console, and that just doesn't seem to be in the cards, they'd have to rush through R&D very quickly in order to release a Pro console Holiday 2024 alongside PS5 Pro. 

One thing is for sure, I doubt Xbox will bother with 2 consoles at the start of next gen, it was a novel idea but it just hasn't worked out for them. I suspect they will release just 1 console at the start of next-gen, and then release Slim and Pro consoles middle of next gen. It may even be a good idea for them to go for a 1 year headstart, aim for a Holiday 2027 release since PS6 is likely targeting Holiday 2028. That 1 year headstart could have positive effects for them the entire gen just like it did on Xbox 360. 

I don't think devs would drop the support for Series S since it may be over 70% of xbox base, it would be more likely of them to drop Xbox altogether.