This is incorrect. These hardware console companies -- starting with Nintendo back in the Nineties -- have repeatedly stated that gross margins from base console hardware sales is extremely slim. They make the lion's share of profit from software sales ("games") as well as peripheral sales (like controllers, extra AC adaptors, cases for portable devices) and merchandise.
The main thing a mid-generation upgrade does is keep attention on the brand as a whole.
Materially software developers will be required to support the original PS5 hardware with games developed for the PS5 Pro. We have seen this multiple times before in previous generations.
In fact the entire videogame industry has long since moved on from the archaic paradigm of "buy this physical media, stick it in your device, and play forever" to one of software updates (patches, etc.), payware DLCs, GaaS, subscriptions and microtransactions.
The notion that Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo rakes in the big profits via console sales is antiquated. We see this type of borderline naivety quite frequently online. Remember that revenue does not equal profit. The COGS of these consoles are very high.
And to be perfectly realistic, Microsoft has mid-generation Xbox Series upgrade prototypes sitting in a lab somewhere. Whether or not they will ever hit a retail shelf is a mystery but for sure both Sony and Microsoft put these in their roadmap YEARS ago. It's not like Sony decided on the PS5 Pro a few months ago.
This is also incorrect.
Remember that
CyberPunk 2077 was announced *LONG* before the PS5 and Xbox Series hardware was in existence. It was intended for PS4/Xbox One + contemporary PC hardware.
CP2077 development was kicked off in 2012. Quick, what Sony and Microsoft consoles were on the market at the time? Pat your back if you answered PS3 and Xbox 360.
Delay after delay lead to it slipping one year, then another, and more all while CDPR intended on it to run satisfactorily on PS4/Xbox One hardware
BECAUSE THEY HAD THE BIGGEST INSTALL BASE BY NUMBER OF UNITS.
If you want to sell a bunch of games, design it to run on a bunch of hardware units in deployment. When
CP2077 started development, PS4/Xbox One were The Next Generation.
CDPR did not have to "support console versions woefully out of date" [sic]. They bungled the entire development process and implemented apparently zero QA. They knew exactly what sort of dumpster fire they were releasing. There should have been ZERO surprises to CDPR about the quality of the PS4 and Xbox One versions game performance. They wrote the code.
Remember that the day before PS5 and Xbox Series released, they had a marketshare of 0% respectively. It would be years before those two new console families would have unit install bases that would exceed their predecessors.
CDPR completely bungled the CP2077 release to the point that Sony actually yanked the title from their game store shortly after launch and refunded unhappy customers (a rarity from Sony). The game suffered for years as a misshapen game until it was finally updated to the point it was decent. But to this date, Phantom Liberty was the only DLC. The highly touted multi-player mode was cancelled. There are still a broad number of defects and shortcomings with this game. Sure, the graphics look great an adequately appointed PC.
These two responses exemplify part of the tragedy of today's videogame industry. A lot of blame is being pointed at the wrong direction for tons of wrong reasons and justifications.
A lot of the ills of the videogame industry fall squarely on the shoulders of the audience. Don't spend your money on crappy games. We saw countless people here pre-order
CP2077 at full retail and get burned by a comically bad release. Buying crappy games at full price just encourages game publishers to release more crappy games and increase the MSRP.
Hell, even Nintendo is feels a little of the pressure of today's marketplace. First-party Nintendo titles do occasionally go on sale here in the USA, even
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has seen the occasional $10 discount.
It's amusing to note that I'm not the only one who thinks gamers (as a whole) suck.
This guy -- who runs a videogame news site
It doesn't matter how much you complain online. Once publishers see their profits plummet, they might start listening to their fans.
www.dsogaming.com
basically says the same thing.
Vote with your dollars. If you whine but keep opening your wallet, publishers will keep doing what they're doing. Unfortunately the videogame audience is perpetually naive and immature.
