PS5 Pro Finally Justifies Its Price With PSSR 2 Upgrades

The PS5 Pro has changed significantly since launch, with improvements to image quality, upscaling technology, ray tracing, and game support making it a more compelling upgrade. Initially, the console struggled to justify its position above the standard PS5, largely because its original PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) technology delivered disappointing results.

However, the introduction of PSSR 2 and more meaningful enhancements across a growing number of games have changed the conversation surrounding Sony's mid-generation console.

PS5 Pro Has Experienced a Redemption Story Since Launch

The PS5 Pro has had a redemption story of sorts, and now, pricing aside, we highly recommend it because it delivers title after title. The first year was disappointing, and it really came down to PSSR not being great. In fact, it sometimes produced results arguably worse than the base PS5, which was pretty unacceptable. However, two things have changed the situation.

First, anything that uses PSSR benefits from the upgraded model, and it is significantly better. It is genuinely really good and has changed the game for titles that use it. In addition, more titles are arriving with slightly better performance and improved image quality, even without PSSR.

The base consoles have started to struggle a little more with image quality. Lower resolutions are becoming more obvious, and while this has been happening throughout the generation, it seems to be happening more often in recent games. And so the benefits of the Pro are becoming more and more evident.

The PS5 Pro is currently on par with or better than the PS4 Pro. The previous console was hardly a performance powerhouse in a world where unlocked frame rates were the norm; however, frame rates were sometimes erratic. The PS5 Pro performs a better job today of offering smooth, consistent frame rates and much-improved image quality.

PS5 Pro Will Provide Bigger 4K Visual Upgrades

PS4 Pro vs PS5 Pro: What's the main difference? The PS4 Pro launched when 4K TVs were just becoming ubiquitous, and the system was designed to serve that growing market. However, many games received relatively modest enhancements, with some effectively moving from 1080p to 1440p. That was acceptable, but not necessarily game-changing.

With the PS5 Pro, more games are meaningfully addressing 4K displays and delivering much better image quality.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer was highlighted as the cleanest Unreal Engine 5 game we've seen running on the Pro, showing how effective the hardware can be when developers use it. More games are getting serious Pro support, and fewer are coming out without significant upgrades, it feels like. It is much better, yet there are some unsatisfactory examples.

PSSR 2 Has Changed the Outlook for PS5 Pro

PSSR 2 has been a game changer, and the console's prognosis is much better. In a one-year retrospective, the PS5 Pro received a mostly divided take on its technologies, whereas PSSR 2 gave it a considerably more upbeat treatment in March. PS5 games are rendered better overall on the PS5 Pro. Visual features, resolution, PSSR 2 and ray tracing improvements combine for remarkable results across a wide range of titles.

In many cases, those upgrades went well beyond the PS4 Pro's standard 1080p-to-1440p bump. The new console can make for more dramatic changes to the overall look of games than a simple resolution boost.

QSSR Could Narrow the Gap Between PS5 and PS5 Pro

Finally, QSSR could help the base PS5 close the gap with the Pro in final image quality. The results will depend on the implementation and the particular game. But the PS5 Pro should have the edge here, providing a clean, nice-looking 4K image. The processing cost in milliseconds might be prohibitive for QSSR to reach similar results at that level of upscaling.

Even if QSSR narrows the gap, the Pro still offers image quality, resolution, ray tracing, and visual features benefits in compatible titles.

PS5 Pro Has Finally Justified Its Position

The path to the PS5 Pro hasn't been smooth. Its early PSSR implementation was disappointing, and the console initially failed to deliver consistent gains that justified its premium position. But it's become more attractive with PSSR 2, improved game support, and more meaningful graphical enhancements. The PS5 Pro is making increasingly important improvements, not just slightly higher resolutions than the PS4 Pro.

The PS5 Pro has already made its case. It's a damn fine console, and it's far better than it was in its first disappointing year.