12 years ago $500 couldn't even get you a 2 TB SSD. But yes Moore's LAW appears to be dieing. The PS5 pro GPU is 45% faster than the PS5, but it's also 50% more expensive than a PS5 digital with an additional 1 GB SSD. The CPU however is still exactly the same.

The PS6 might launch for $550, but with a lot less than we have now. Sony might reuse the Dualsense again and not include it in the basic version, same for the disc drive. Sony made more money with the PS5 in 3.5 years than the PS4 in 7 years. It's not like they can not sell the hardware at a loss or no profit, they simply won't do it anymore.

I thought they said the CPU in the PS5pro boosts to 3.85 ghz (up from 3.5ghz) at the cost of like 2% GPU performance only.
So there is a 10% increase in CPU speeds compared to the normal PS5.

But yes, its the same cpu (I think?) just running faster.  Not sure if there extra stuff inside it, that drives cpu performance up while gameing.

I honestly don't want consoles getting more expensive.
To me the "point" of a home console is easy of use, and bang for buck.
Its to make gaming easy for the masses.

They need to stay that way, imo.

That should be the way in my perception. Mass production should make things cheaper and Sony already gets lots of revenue for services like PS+ and royalties that should warrant making no profit on the initial hardware.

However Sony has been very vocal about not making enough profit, so I fear that affordability is not a prime concern or that they will have a budget DIY PS6 version. With no disc drive, controller, barely any storage nor a vertical stand. Which is a massive enshittification move.

I can also see Sony will no longer publish discs themselves and the optional disc drive is only usable for backwards compatibility and third party games that launch on disc, since Sony doesn't make as much money on store sold games.

The 10% faster CPU is nice, but like with the PS4 pro it will most likely not make huge differences and it is a relatively old CPU with an old design.

The PS4 hardware execution last gen was extremely well done. PS5 was as well initially, if SNY would've skipped PS5 Pro and made it a shorter gen based on the economy and inflation. They should choose one of those methods and continue with that going forward. I'd say the PS4 method is arguably the safer route to take. Like you guys said, keeping the base hardware cheap, and all hardware in general cheaper, is what consoles are about and what works best overall.

XB Series wasn't a terrible idea from this perspective, they just didn't execute as well with the XBSS, but weren't far off. It's also hard to see that because of SNY's dominance and the losses they took on the PS5 Digital model to make it a better deal than the Series S.

Based on PS5 sales crushing XBSX sales, and the fact that XBSX on paper is more powerful, for the same price, I think SNY is in a place where if they wanted to, they could go back to the exact same formula they used for PS4 hardware, or could basically copy the XB Series method. Maybe SNY would want something like a $400 and $600 console launch instead of $300 and $500, but keeping the next gen base console below $500 is key.

They're the butt of the joke again. 

The man speaks the truth. 

Seems overly dramatic. IMO Sony has entered a different stage with their product and they are essentially the default console at this point. When we look at their business overall they are in a really great spot. With MS brining over their exclusives and their revenue is higher than ever. They've made more money this gen then they have with all previous gens combined. That's insane.

Views like this might be shared among hardcore followers of the brand and people who post on forumswatch youtube videos about gaming. The casual gamer though? They don't really care. I have a group of friends I game with every single day. They had no idea what Concord was. I literally downloaded the openbeta and didn't say anything to them because I just expected them to already have it ready. They game more than I do. Yet they didn't even know it was out or what kind of game it was.

Is this true?  I know that has been touted for Nintendo and the Switch, but hadn't seen the same reported for Sony.  And is that revenue or profit, because I'm assuming the Concord debacle might cut into that a bit.

Well I thought it was because I heard someone on last stand media say it. Now I wonder if I misquoted/misheard them or what. This is all I could find but it is their most profitable gen and we are only half way through it.

https://www.techradar.com/gaming/consoles-pc/sony-says-the-ps5-is-the-companys-most-profitable-console-generation-ever-but-the-ps4-still-counts-for-half-of-its-player-base

Thanks for providing that link.  Certainly Sony still is on top, but not at the level you stated.  I do think it is relevant for the discussion here that the thread title is whether Sony's image is "starting" to stain.  Sony has enjoyed a generation and a half (maybe even two as their late PS3 reputation was pretty stellar) of positive public image.  This thread is just asking whether that trajectory is beginning to dip in the other direction.  I think it's hard to argue against the premise that Sony has indeed lost some of its luster, especially in light of their recent missteps with Concord.  Certainly it probably won't matter too much in the long run, but in the war with Microsoft it is a rare L for Sony in the eyes of consumers.