You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here
The first drips of hands-on experiences with the PS5 Pro are here and the senior principal product manager at SIE has spoken about the product’s target audience. “We are not aiming for everyone,” Toshimasa Aoki said.
In speaking to Famitsu, Aoki was questioned on the “target users of the PS5 Pro,” with a specific emphasis on new customers who might find the Pro’s price-tag far too dear.
It should be noted that the interview has been translated from Japanese to English, and so slight variations in wording and tone may occur.
“As for the price, we are not aiming for everyone, but for users who are more enthusiastic about the gaming experience, or ‘Most Engaged Users,’ as we call them.”
Mark Cerny’s initial presentation of the PS5 Pro ended with the revelation that it would cost $699 / £699 – a price tag that was instantly critiqued. It was clear that despite sharing the same naming convention as the PS4 Pro (priced at $399), there would be few similarities between the two. The immediate question; who is this console actually for?
Sony’s thought process is now increasingly more lucid. “We packed in a lot of technology this time to give users the best experience, so we think that the price and value are on par with price. Of course, it’s not just the GPU, but also 2TB of storage, Wi-Fi 7, and other peripheral features and specifications.”
I think Aoki’s words echo a greater sentiment, one that has been in the iron works for quite a while. Earlier on this year, Hermann Hulst revealed SIE’s strategy for hoovering up gamers from the PC market.
“Indeed we are bringing our titles to the PC platform and we have a dual approach here. On the live service side, we are releasing out titles simultaneously, same day and date on PS5 and PC. But with our temple titles, our single player narrative-driven titles … we introduce our great franchises to new audiences … that are potentially going to be very interested in playing, for example, sequels on the PlayStation platform. We have high hopes that we’re actually going to bring new players into PlayStation at large, but into PlayStation platforms specifically.”
Effectively, PlayStation’s strategy of releasing its games onto PC is designed to then encourage customers to switch platforms onto Sony hardware. The PS5 Pro is then the target destination as the first console that can genuinely challenge the PC stranglehold on fidelity gaming.
The brand’s insistence on mandating PlayStation Network sign-in on its PC ports is further evidence of this; a snare into Sony’s gaming ecosystem.
PlayStation are not aiming for everyone with the PS5 Pro – they are specifically targeting the PC market. It is increasingly apparent that PlayStation will keep making consoles because PCs are too “difficult.” Meanwhile, Xbox has made its own position clear by shifting its gaming hardware focus to cloud-based architecture, and if Game Pass can grow past its current plateau, it might not need its consoles anymore altogether.
In some ways, the PS5 Pro is a signal from Sony that its console future is going to be aggressive, competitive with PC hardware, and all the more expensive.
You can read the full interview with Famitsu and SIE here.
About the Author
