The Sony PlayStation 4 Pro is almost here, and fans are excited. It's a mid-generation upgrade that promises to bring 4K gaming to every household. However, with just 4.2 teraflops of GPU power, can this piece of hardware truly deliver 4K gaming the way it's meant to be played?
Video Games In 4K
This has been the question many have been asking ever since the console was announced. When we look at PC gaming, 4K is there for sure, but it costs an arm and a leg to get there. The PlayStation 4 Pro cost only $399, so something has got to give, right? Definitely.
You see, this system is definitely capable of delivering video game content in true 4K, but chances are, any title hoping to meet that goal natively will have to reduce graphical fidelity a great deal. This is where Sony's checkerboard technique comes into play. It upscales the image to 4K in such a way that some folks think that it doesn't come off as upscaled.
It would seem as players might have to wait some time before they witness the real power of the PlayStation 4 Pro. For those who are wondering, only a handful of games have been patched to support the new power at launch.
What The Critics Are Saying
Vince Ingenito from IGN had a lot of kind words to say about the PS4 Pro. However, while he views the console as a major powerhouse, he doesn't believe the current crop of 4K supported titles have a significant edge to warrant an upgrade if you already own a PS4.
"The PS4 Pro is a premium-looking machine that offers a lot of extra power for developers to exploit. But right now, even on a big and brilliant 4K screen, the differences are often not stark enough to make standard PS4 owners jealous," Ingenito says.
Jimmy Thang of GameSpot believes the PS4 Pro is the way to go for any PS4 owner, and this is because of its 4K support and future-proof hardware. To Thang, it doesn't matter if you have a 4K TV or a regular 1080p TV, the console should be able to deliver increases in performance through either display technology.
"Should you buy a PlayStation 4 Pro? If you have a 4K HDR TV and are looking to buy a console, I'd definitely recommend the PS4 Pro. Even if you have a 1080p TV and are looking to buy a PlayStation, I'd still lean more toward the Pro," says Thang.
Richard Leadbetter from Eurogamer appears to have a lot of love for the PS4 Pro as he believes it comes off as more appealing than the standard model, even at $100 more expensive. Like others, he's saying if you're not yet a PS4 owner and looking to step up, then the Pro is definitely the way to go.
"If you don't already own a PlayStation console and you're looking to invest, the Pro is a no-brainer. You're getting over twice the GPU power, a faster CPU, future-proofed display and streaming media support - and twice the hard drive space. The price-point is keen enough that it's going to take some seriously aggressive bundling deals to make the standard PlayStation 4 look appealing," he notes.
As it stands right now, most critics recommend the PS4 Pro, but only to those who have a 4K and HDR setup. Furthermore, first-time PlayStation 4 buyers should pick up the newer system instead of the old. Current owners don't have to upgrade seeing as the performance difference so far is not significant.
Those who are looking for a huge bump in power may need to wait until Project Scorpio hits store shelves next year.
