The PlayStation 5 has served as the go-to console for the fighting game community, especially for tournaments, for the second generation in a row, but things are getting a bit more expensive on that front.
Sony appears to be teasing a PlayStation 5 Pro reveal to finally take place tomorrow while at the same time quietly upping the price on their controllers.
The company announced today a special “Technical Presentation” for the PS5 is coming September 10 starting at 8 a.m. PDT / 11 a.m. EDT.
This stream is to be hosted by the console’s lead architect, Mark Cerny, and last approximately only nine minutes in total.
It’s claimed the presentation will “will focus on PS5 and innovations in gaming technology” though everyone seems pretty darn convinced this is where the PlayStation 5 Pro may make its official introduction to the world.
A PS5 Pro has essentially been an open secret for quite some time now, but hearing about its existence and seeing what the new console can do are very different things.
At the same time, however, DualSense controllers quietly jumped up in price at most major retailers across the United States today as well.
Instead of $70, the White, Starlight Blue, Galactic Purple, Cosmic Red, Midnight Black, and Gray Camouflage controllers are now $75 while the Sterling Silver, Cobalt Blue, and Volcanic Red are up to $80 from $75.
This increase has also been see in in the United Kingdom with a £5 increase and $10 in Australia.
Tune in tomorrow for a PlayStation 5 Technical Presentation hosted by Mark Cerny
The 9-minute stream begins September 10 at 8:00am PT / 4:00pm BST. Full details: pic.twitter.com/qGUF0Yj9Ia
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) September 9, 2024
It also comes just a few weeks after Sony announced a price hike for the PS5 itself in Japan and potentially other territories by around the equivalent of $90 USD for each version though no further regions have been confirmed yet.
While the PS5 Pro should boast some improvements to graphics, ray tracing and frame rates, there likely won’t be any major impact for current fighting games unless the system somehow brings input lag down by absurd levels — which is something the base console previously struggled with.
These price increases are going to impact the average user at least a little bit (and fighting game players if they go through pads on a regular basis), but tournament organizers won’t likely be feeling much of a squeeze outside of Japan in terms of the hardware needed to run events.
Typically, console prices trend downward over their lifespan as production and parts become cheaper, but we’re not seeing that this generation.
Part of that can likely be blamed on the after effects of Covid still felt around the world’s industries as well as inflation and volatile economic situations.
We also probably shouldn’t expect the PS5 Pro to be any less than $600.
But we’ll all find out soon enough.