For years, I have been a heavy gamer on both consoles and PC (more on PC, as the TV was a precious shared resource). When the original PS4 debuted, I decided to give up my gaming rig as the costs of keeping it up to date were high, not to mention the physical space it required. Switching to console-only drove me nuts at the beginning; games on both consoles and PC were way superior on the PC, not to mention all those RTS and FPS games. As PCs naturally surpassed current generation consoles in raw power, my regret has set in. So when Sony announced that the PS4 will get a mid-cycle upgrade to the PS4 Pro, I had mixed feelings. On one hand, here I am going to invest in an upgrade just like my PC days. On the other hand, I don’t have to wait a ridiculous amount of time for my games to run better.
So here is the PS4 Pro. It is more powerful than the current PS4, with twice the GPU oomph and an extra GB of RAM. That said, the PS4 Pro is fully compatible with all current and future titles on the PS4, and developers are required to support both versions of the PS4 in all their games. What this means is that you don’t absolutely have to upgrade, though if you do choose to upgrade, you’ll get some benefits.
So, what exactly are those benefits? For now, the select titles that support the PS4 Pro — or have been patched to support it — offer 4K resolution (terms and conditions apply), enhanced visuals, and/or better frame rates. The caveat here is that games that have not been patched will *not* see any benefit from the powerful, which I find odd; it would have been great if the PS4 Pro would, by default, alleviate some frame-rate issues found in games such as Until Dawn. That is unfortunately not the case.
The 4K element is a tricky one as well. To start with, you should have a 4K TV to be able to unlock the 4K potential in games (as well as 4K video streaming content from Netflix and others). The second element is that not all the patched games will natively output in 4K. For example, Uncharted 4 renders at 1440p (on the original PS4 it renders at 1080p). It looks quite sharp and detailed — and let’s face it, Uncharted 4 is one of the best looking games out there — and that is a welcome visual update. A game that takes good advantage of the PS4 Pro, though, is Rise of the Tomb Raider. You can switch between three modes on the fly: 4K mode which renders the game in true 4K at 30fps; high frame-rate mode which renders the game in 1080p at 60fps, and enhanced visuals mode which renders the game in 1080p at 30fps but with enhanced graphical effects. Those with a 4K TV should definitely play it in 4K; the quality of the image is unbelievably sharp; those without a 4K TV would benefit from the high frame-rate option given the nature of the game (which also looks good on a 4K TV but not as good as 4K mode).
At the current circumstances, if you’re looking to pick up a PS4 Pro expecting immediate, profound changes in your gameplay experience, you probably won’t (unless you’re playing Tomb Raider and Uncharted 4 and some other games). You will have to wait a little bit longer until developers have the PS4 Pro in mind while creating their games, and even then, you do not have control on what enhancements you will see. Will developers offer a 4K mode and a high frame mode like in Tomb Raider? Will enhancements be more particle effects? Will they offer native 4K or upscale? It’s entirely up to the developers.
That said, the PS4 Pro will provide you with the best experience in future games. You’ll get the most benefit if you have — or are planning to have — a 4K TV, particularly one which supports HDR. Is it worth upgrading to if you already have a PS4? Depends on whether you have a 4K TV, the spare money (you can always sell your original PS4), and whether or not it you need it *now*. The PS4 Pro has the power and potential to deliver significantly better gameplay experiences, but it’s up to the developers to choose how that experience is brought to you.
