Sony is trying to leverage its competitive advantage in the cutthroat console market with the release of the PlayStation 4 Pro. Days after the console's Nov. 10 release, however, there are already gamers who are raising performance issues when playing certain games.
PS4 Pro Performance Issues
Based on user complaints so far, it appears that the new console is running at a surprisingly lower performance compared with the original PlayStation 4 version. A number of observers said that can be attributed to the device's support for 4K resolution.
If you play Skyrim or Mantis Burn Racing, for example, you will find that it will perform better in PlayStation 4. These games sustain low frame rates and spotty gameplay once the 4K mode is triggered.
Surprisingly, performance issues also occur when downgrading to 1080p. Without the HDR features, it is still dropping frame rates. So overall, the enhanced image quality of games might have been achieved in the purportedly beefed-up PlayStation 4 Pro but at a lower level of performance.
Perhaps the best HD or HDR experience so far involves The Last of Us, developed by Naughty Dog, a company known for its optimization chops. The gameplay will work fine at 3,200 x 1,800 resolution but gamers have to expect the game to drop 2-5 frames per second occasionally.
Blaming 4K Support
Since the performance problems involve 4K display support, many fear that gamers cannot rectify the situation as enhanced performance option is out of the table. If left unaddressed, Sony could be setting itself up for a minor controversy.
Gamers point out that with the "Pro" upgrade, performance issues at full HD resolution should not have been a problem in the first place. A number of these are scoffing at the idea that they have to compromise by accepting performance fluctuations in exchange for high image quality.
According to Uber Gizmo, the performance challenge for the PlayStation 4 Pro is highlighted by the fact that the affected titles being reported are already those produced by big studios. This could signal a more prevalent problem as smaller developers are possibly not equipped with resources and skills to remaster their titles immediately.
There is no word yet coming from Sony addressing the frame rate problem. Meanwhile, game publishers are probably scrambling as of this writing to optimize their games and issue patches promptly. But their efforts will be made more challenging by the fact that even some pro-optimized software still reportedly exhibit issues.
