The PlayStation support account, managed by Sony, has recently introduced a PS5 Pro game quality reduction feature for backward compatible games from PlayStation 4. Laser sharpness creatively transforms the rather stale PSSR upscale chemical into the “Enhance Image Quality for PS4 Games” feature that is accessible over more than 8,500 titles of the old-gen. The users have mixed opinions regarding the scaling technology of the PlayStation and its practical use in the Pro version as compared to the standard PS5.
The official tweet would have appeared like nothing less than just an announcement that PS5 users will have their comfort items unwrapped in more vivid shades. The occasion even came with a link to the corresponding text, i.e. a support page that informs the users how to activate the feature. Still, I think it is a matter for debate whether the players will actually find it impressive or just a love-using-hearts shooting-up situation.
Let’s even rewind to the Twitter user who was really impressed with the graphics. The first thing he asked was, “Why is it only for the ps5 pro?” Mando_501Legion could not have been more honest. They are not the only ones with this opinion. And, it became a long thread where different people started posting about their tech struggles. One such user, FlashFireFist_, consistently argued that the Pro has PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution), while the standard PS5 does not. “Well the PS5 doesn’t have PSSR so it can’t,” was their argument. However, some other users, like cybercompletos, even claimed, “They are using PSSR to market the console, but in reality, they can make those improvements without it. The cheapest Xbox can.” The era-old console war got its revival by this new argument and people started comparing the backward compatibilities of Sony and Microsoft’s Xbox Series S/X.
Beneath the “Why Pro only?” drama, players had very particular and very legitimate questions about what this actually does. The phrase “enhanced image quality” is a bit unclear. A gamer going by the name of ashukoe1 was very direct: “I will buy ps5 pro if there is an fps unlock feature, not just an image enhancement.” This is a huge point! People want to know if this means smoother frame rates or just a resolution bump. Another player, evilcozord, has a very specific dream: “Can I play Bloodborne in 60fps on ps5 pro?” That single inquiry probably got a million likes in the hearts of FromSoftware fans everywhere. And kc1294 asked, “But does it make Tales of Zestiria 60 frames per second?” So, the community clearly expects not only prettier pixels but also performance enhancements.
Then, on the flip side of the coin, suspicion emerged. Certain comments were brutally honest regarding how the PS5 Pro would be viewed by the public. DBaptistaSilva mentioned, “Except, as your sales surely have shown you, no one wants to pay 800€ for a console that doesn’t even bring a disc reader AND only marginally improves on the PS5 itself. That’s why units are rotting on shelves since launch.” Oof. That was a powerful blow to the perceived value of the offering. Another user, systemslave6, responded to the console’s game library with the blunt statement, “8,498 are crap,” which is… definitely a take, though. And then there were the skeptics concerned about technicalities. jackofallgames7 shared the experience of someone who said, “This has caused issues though in some games. In Tomb Raider Underworld, it caused physics issues and even weird glitches.” So it is not all smooth sailing and uprezzed sunshine – there might be some compatibility issues to resolve after upscaling.
Amidst the noise were the whispers of hope and unexpected requests. Margrnwjr expressed, “Now if we could just get full backward compatibility it would be amazing,” referring to the ever-present wish for PS3 support. And in another totally unexpected moment, CurlyClavis tagged AskPlayStation and said, “Cyberpunk 2077 needs to be VR compatible 😡”. Sir, this is a Wendy’s. I mean, this is a PS4 upscaling announcement. But why not!
The conversation even edged into language interpretation, showing how diverse the gaming community is. A user asked in Spanish about how many PS4 games there are altogether, and Grok, the AI, actually got involved and answered, citing MobyGames and the like. It was an unexpectedly supportive moment amidst the disagreements.
In the end, PlayStation’s tweet was able to do exactly what it set out to do: It got people talking about the PS5 Pro.
