I really don't see that happening. There's no point in abandoning the millions of people who got a base PS4.

Sony will have PS5 be a complete new generation console. There'd be no point in having PS4 Pro play PS5 games

I'm hoping that the only reason why we got the mid gen upgrades is due to the jump to 4k. Really hope this is a special case and not the normal. Xbox one x users are probably only going to get 2-3 years before the next gen Xbox comes out. Thats just too short of a time period to warrant this going forward.

there will be ps5 exclusive games due to cpu differences but most developers will scale there games down to ps4/pro levels at least for a few years, the ps4 wont be abandoned even when the ps5 launches

Once the price goes down to 300 it should be their only PS4 console it would make sense.

Like I said since the start of mid gen upgrade.
MS and Sony want to copy the smartphone models.

Unlikely given the fact they keep advertising the slim more than the Pro. I'm 90% sure the slim is outselling the Pro given it's cheaper price point

That's actually pretty smart. If Pro can get close to the price of OG PS4, then they have a much cheaper 4k console, with not much of a difference graphically to their competition. Would make a great lead in to PS5. Also, considering Sony has the momentum and sales this gen, Microsoft may be forced to release a new console at the same time as PS5 to compete. This would make the Xbox One X owners feel a bit shafted

It's possible, but I think the potential PS5 Pro will launch alongside standard PS5.

This is one of the most uninformed things Pachter has said in a long while. For one thing, the PS4 Pro will not be a baseline for PS5 software. That'd put PS5 software at a lesser spec than the Xbox One X.

Sony has sold too many normal PS4s to make the Pro the "standard" model. I can see the Xbox One X becoming the "standard" Xbox someday, because it makes sense for MS to do that, but Sony... no. Not while they are so far in the marketshare lead. They'll keep everything sailing as-is, until the PS5, plain and simple. Why throw in a monkey wrench to mess with their own domination?

It doesn't make financial sense for them to start building a more expensive console, and making less profit, when 60 million less expensive consoles still determine the baseline for what game developers create.

Also, the Pro will never be cheaper to build -- it just won't. They can produce 2x the PS4 slim chips, for the same $$ -- they're on the same hardware process node (16nm) and everything. The Pro is just twice as big, and thus the chip is twice the price. They can't continue to combat MS by dropping the price of the PS4, if they double the price of the most expensive component, and they're not going to let MS be $50-$100 cheaper from here on out by getting rid of the PS4 Slim.

Why do people even listen to Michael Pachter anymore? He is always wrong and is not an insider

All you guys still thinking the same. Guys in this consoles marketing NEXTGEN means is different than the PC upgrade modeling!
PS4 and Pro not gone get same games with PS5. Just remember PS1-2-3 eras. Playstation 4 and Pro is the same console family only different one of them supporting 4K that's all. But PS5 will be totally different.

This is not using only AMD CPU and GPU and that's why PS5 will support PS4 and Pro bla bla. No not gone happen. It is not happened before with PS3 and PS2! We can get backwards compatible with PS4 games but this is not mean every single game will come to PS5 and PS4 Pro support! PS5 game will be playable on PS5 hardware with PS5 disc and purchase. Same game some time will be released same time on PS4 with PS4 disc and PS4 purchase.
I'm trying to saying PS5 system will not the part of PLAYSTATION 4 family's.

PS5 will be next gen hardware and games for exclusive on that platform. It's not gone be like Xbox One X or Pro or Pro2. I hope i can explain with my very bad English guys.
(ESL guy here sorry for English)

You dont need to be a rocket scientist to see that. Of course the PRO will be the cheaper model.

Sony are doing brilliantly this gen. However, moving to much shorter console cycles means BC across a range of consoles is going to become essential. Otherwise you risk alienating your customers. Incremental upgrades are going to become the norm. I don't want to buy a PS5 only to find the games I bought for my PS4 pro, only two years before, are now redundant. Same principle applies to MS, of course. BC isn't as difficult as is sometimes suggested. Firstly, with suffcient power in your new gen, a software option becomes possible. Also, remember, generally speaking, CPU's remain very similar across a family, even if the socket or bus widths are different, CPU instruction sets generally just add to the existing set. Adding new features, but retaining the older ones. Okay, that's slightly simplified, but BC shouldn't be a major problem across x86 or even AMD64

Makes sense. Once the Pro is similar price to standard unit they might as well save manufacturing costs by only having one SKU

Sounds good - PS5 is only a couple of years away anyway.

I got a pro because it solves many issues with optimization in several games, one of the reasons I tend to not buy many games for console solved.

Ps4 pro bundle for sale inbox me for details

People need to understand... what we are calling 1/2 steps or mid-gen refreshes are actually going to be the new steps for console. P4, PS4 Pros, PS5, PS5 Pro, PS6... Microsoft will do the same and we will see the cycle between consoles shorten to 3 to 4 yrs. PS4 Pro will become the default PS system and lead the way into the PS5 launch as the premium system with Pro being the base system. The writing is clearly on the wall on this.

Said this day 1 to little agreement. At some point devs will insist on Pro being the baseline PS4. It may not be this year but it's coming. Eventually games won't have to run on base/slim AND Pro. Either you'll have it or you won't, same as phones.

I'll wait until PS5, for what it's worth. I'm ok with base PS4.

PS5 may well play all the games that the PS4 and the PS4 Pro can in addition to games made specifically for the power of the PS5. This will ensure that PS4/Pro owners will be incentivized to upgrade to a PS5 so that they can play all their PS4/Pro games as well as the new PS5 games (Most likely FF7 Remake, Death Stranding included). This will also ensure that games that are yet to arrive for the older consoles can be played across the board so sales are maximised and there is no need to have a PS5 remaster or remake. Gradually as time goes by and the next gen matures the games released for the PS4 will reduce to zero and all games developed will only run on the PS5 and so on. I suspect the PS5 may well be the last Sony console to take discs but I hope not.

Michael Pachter always talking shit, when his going to learn to take his mouth shout.

Here's a tip...shut the f*** up

All they care about is the money. It's pure greed, and it's disgusting

Them: "We've figured out a way to squeeze you of more money, come on let us stick it in."
Us: "No."
Them: "Please! just the tip."
Us: "That's how it always starts."

Where's that tip is actually going the CEOs pocket.

"Interesting concept"?! This is beyond idiotic.

First of all, developers have a salary and they earn a pretty decent wage.
Next, tipping culture is awful overall and should be abolished, i think. People don't see it as a token of gratitude for the job done well (as it should be), they see it as their own money that you must give them, no matter how they do the job. Look at some places, tips became mandatory and they are a fixed percent of your order, for some reason (especially in kids playrooms). You'll give them an inch and they'll take a mile and then another one on top. Look at macrotransactions, started on free to play games, was costing around $2-$5, now it's everywhere, even in $70 AAA games and cost more than a game, up to $100.
On top of that, you'll have to waste resources adding this system, integrate with payment providers and fix the bugs, who will do that? What, another company should make it and take a fee from every transaction? No, thanks, there're already enough parasites around.

Even if we ignore that this is dumb idea and should never be a thing ever:
Who can guarantee that the money will go to developers ONLY? That's right, no one.
How many developers are working on a AAA game? 100+? Who would you tip, some particular developer? How would you know who? All 100? The wouldn't even notice a few cents bonus.

Hey, as long as we're throwing (dumb) ideas around - how about the other way around, CEOs and top management will tip the players who play their game? I read everywhere about the record profits and firing development staff, yet CEOs and top management are keeping theirs, so how about sharing some of your wealth? Oh, what, you don't want that? Oh, i guess it should only work in your favor, huh?

It’s called Kickstarter, since 99% of games are broken upon release and are essentially still in development.

Tipping culture is getting out of hand. I just see this as moving in a direction where employers no longer want to be held accountable for their employee’s salaries or investments.

Why aren’t you showing your appreciation and providing me with a tip for purchasing your game? Did I do something wrong by only dropping $130+ on your Ultimate Edition that is plagued with matchmaking issues for the next 2-3 months and only includes a bonus game soundtrack that is totally forgettable?

Just the tip?

Give me the option by all means. I can then choose to refuse.

We will then immediately see games designed from the ground up around tipping.

Yeah tipping the developer only to find later that he was laid off.

I'd like to tip a few off a cliff

How about they get paid a proper wage.
American tipping culture is just madness I've seen it's starting to expand beyond just waiters and Batista's into things like real estate agents and self service kiosks like at Macdonalds along with other place's it should never even be considering I don't tip anyone in Australia ever and no one is mad about it.

I think the developers should tip us for essentially buying dome $70 games to basically play test. Doesn’t really sound so good does it? Y’all make more than most people and still want more.

Fuck off

Whats next, I dont tip and then they remove my access to the game?

This wouldn't work for games published by a big company, of course. But it could work for smaller indie game projects that have a very low cost, such as a $5 game made by 3 people, and you can choose to tip them an extra $3 - $5 as a sign of appreciation.

However, this would be a disgusting practice if it was allowed for games published by Ubisoft, Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, EA, Namco, Capcom, S-E, Sega, etc.

On top of $70 games? No

This is how food delivery apps put more of the responsibility and cost on the customer. Blizzard finds the sleaziest managers.

Give me a f@cking break!

First thet introduce tips, then they cut pay as much as possible, so they can profit more.

I could see this being a cool thing for Indies. But often you can do just that already if they have a patreon or something similar. For major developer companies that would be super silly, to start there is a huge chance that the devs that worked on that particular game has already been fired as the project is over. And obviously the money would not reach the developers that are still there, the suits would gobble it all up.

Also we all know that if this get implemented by a American. It would stop being a small bonus for good work and become a integral part of the salary of the devs in no time.

I'll be honest I don't think I'm 100% against this. Like it would be a very rare thing for me. It would only donate/tip Devs that have not only made a incredible game. But also don't make me feel like I'm getting nicked and dimed.

I love it when these CEOs and the ilk speak about the video game industry. They say the wildest, headscratching rubbish that only seems reasonable to a soulless husk whose myopic pursuit of profit make it seem reasonable to him and him alone.

Tipping culture is out of hand and it needs to stop.

excuse me? lol

To Mike Ybarra, In the words of Elon Musk, "go fk yourself!" Is that clear enough.

They're trying to be restaurant owners 😂😂 have the consumer pay for their wages smh

In a couple of years:

Horse DLC $80 dollars.. oh you buy it! Wanna tip another $20 for the demon son of Bobby Kottick?!

Go work in a restaurant if you want to work for tips. You get no insurance and paid $5/hr.

How about you make something worth buying? He can blame constant video game sales if anything. Most Games are half price in just months.

Everyone knows games go on sale constantly, devs need to make and market properly and maybe we get excited enough to drop $70. I remember seeing WAY more game commercials back in the day. They don’t spend money marketing anymore and just expect us to build hype on our own when day one gaming is risky. These devs have F’d up so many times and just fix via patches…this is bullshit and why we all just wait for your buggy rushed game to go on sale.

Wow that sounds like a wonderful idea
Then the multi billion dollar company wouldn't have to pay them as much
And if there's one company I trust with this stuff, it's blizzard
Always thinking about the little guy

My 'tip' is buying good games.

Oh yeah so then blizzard can justify paying employees less. What a scummy dude

These games are produced for the most part at multiple million to trillion dollar companies. How about they be fiscally responsible with scope and budget so they can pay the developers better. It is not the consumers responsibility to bail out failing business plans.

How about NO!

The USA doesn't understand tippIng....knowing them they'd reduce wages across the board for all devs in order to guilt trip customers to tip.

No no no no no no no way in hell would I ever support ANOTHER tipping avenue. "Oh it's optional" you say? Say that to the "forced 20% gratuity on some checks". What next? Unskippable 1 minute donation begging before we can play so they can write it off in their taxes?

Look at that stupid smile...

I'm not gonna tip you when I have to pay 30 dollars extra for 2 days of early access. You should have probably also tipped your coworker when she got paid less for the exact same role you were given and didn't say a word about it.

Oh what was that? I should torrent more games on PC? Don't mind if I do. LOL I have the Starcraft collection already what else shall I take hmmmm...

I thought micro transactions was tips...

The moment they implement that option, they will reduce the developers' pay and expect tips to makeup the difference.

Tipping is a wonderful thing to do, but an executive is the last person who should suggest it for an industry. This is just shady.

Actually, if I buy a game on sale, I would be open if the funds went to the developer NOT the publisher. For example, buy a $70 game at $39.99. If the game is great and updated properly, I would tip $10.

Okay but if your game is trash, then it's only fair you pay me for having to go through that hardship of spending my money on a terrible game.

If games did not have microtransactions and released complete and games weren't broken on release and patched later then this might have a little bit of merit. Non multiplayer games connected to the internet have lead to intolerable experiences.

If you want the ability to give tips then totally stop selling MT’s and battle passes and I will consider it.

What a pure idiot. Stupid is what stupid does……so don’t be on the “does” category.

Don't these guys earn enough?

Here’s to incoming “your tips make up for it” salary cuts

Mike Ybarra is a joke. This man goes from company to company like the town wh*re.

I didn’t like him at Microsoft, didn’t like him at Blizzard. And while I would tip developers who deserve it.

I’ll never tip developers who are more than happy to force diversity and inclusion just because.

If it makes sense for the story and game okay. But often times it’s just there to check DEI boxes.

Or perhaps the big greedy companies that hired said developers and what not pay out of their billion dollar pockets. Instead of pocketing it all or most of it and then complaining how expensive it is to make AAA video games nowadays. You greedy perverted F’s. Stop job cuts too so you maintain a disgusting life style while the real hardworking people struggle to get by while working tirelessly to make your F’ing games. There should be more capital from these companies that have a reserve for the devs and give them a fair bonus when the games launched.

The amount of money these CEO’s rank in compared to the peanuts the devs and various studio employees make could go towards a better funded gaming experience. The big dogs don’t work anywhere near as much or as hard as the poor devs who often end up on the short end of the stick. Get used and abused then let go while they have a house to pay off.

such scummy idea from a scummy company!