Bad News for the PS5 Pro: It’s Falling Behind Its Predecessor’s Pace

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On November 7th, 2024, I was thrilled to get my hands on the next-gen upgrade – the PS5 Pro! This powerhouse promised significant enhancements over its predecessor, boasting a supercharged GPU that’s 45% faster, a cutting-edge deep learning image upscaling tech, ray tracing capabilities doubled, and an impressive 2 TB of SSD storage.

The PS5 Pro offers smooth 4K gameplay at 60 frames per second, but here’s the hitch – it retails for an impressive $700.

Consequently, there seemed to be some hesitation among fans about whether the PS5 Pro was a wise purchase. This uncertainty appears to be reflected in sales figures, since, based on reports by Mat Piscatella, the PS5 Pro isn’t selling nearly as briskly as the PS4 Pro did initially.

January Video Game Hardware Spending Dropped 45% Year to Year Across the Board

Overall, spending on video game consoles was down in the month, so this isn’t solely a Sony issue.

Compared to previous investments, expenditure on PS5 equipment decreased by 38%, while Xbox Series sales experienced a 50% decline. However, Nintendo Switch sales dropped by 53% as well, which can be attributed to the recent unveiling of its upcoming successor, slated for release this year.

1. It seems folks won’t put much money into buying a console that’s on its way out. Simultaneously, it appears they aren’t keen on spending excessively on a console solely due to its advanced capabilities.

2. It looks like people won’t make significant investments in a console nearing obsolescence. At the same time, there’s evidence that they aren’t going to pay too much for a console just because it boasts high-end features.

And one more version with a touch of colloquial language:

3. Folks don’t seem to want to drop big bucks on a console that’ll be outdated soon, and they sure as heck aren’t going to shell out extra for a console because it’s got all the latest tech.

2025 saw the lowest sales for video game hardware during January with a total of $205 million, which was significantly lower than the same month in 2020 that recorded sales of $131 million.

Across the board, there was a decrease in the gaming industry. Predictions indicate that U.S. consumers spent 15% less on video game hardware, content, and accessories compared to the same period last year. However, these figures were still slightly higher than those from January 2023 by 0.3%.

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2025-02-24 20:39