Video Game Console Makers Confront Performance Ceiling

An anonymous reader shares a report: The human eye can't really tell the difference between 4K and 8K resolution. Video game console manufacturers, who have built their businesses selling increasingly powerful machines every few years, are grappling with a future where performance improvements are becoming less dramatic.

Sony Group launched its PlayStation 5 Pro console in mid-November. The $700 upgraded version of Sony's 2020 gaming machine uses AI to improve games' frame rate while maintaining exceptional image quality -- at least for 82 games that have been enhanced to take advantage of the new specs. That means gamers can see the realistic glint of their metal sword and experience smooth, sword-swinging battle action.

But despite all the fancy tech and a $200 price increase over the previous version, reviews so far haven't suggested it's a must-have machine. 'It's an improvement, but there's nothing that makes it a complete generation above what the Series X offered,' Daniel Ahmad, director of research and insights at Niko Partners, said. 'It's a lot more difficult to distinguish the jump between each generation.' The number of households with a gaming console hasn't really budged in more than a decade. Many gamers are replacing older machines more slowly, finding the one they already have is good enough.

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