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[Celcius]

Last gen we got hardware upgrades halfway through the cycle with the PS4 pro and Xbox one x. Imagine if Pro consoles had always been a thing that happened halfway through the gen though… how do you think it would have changed things? Would an SNES Pro have graphics like a Neo Geo? Would a PS1 Pro with more 60 fps games and more memory for better 2d Capcom arcade ports have been a big deal? Thoughts?

 

[clintar]

we would lose more money

 

[reforen]

my thoughts is that Pro Consoles existed only due to the GPU jump in 2013, remember that both machines were less than 2Tflops

 

[VooDooChicken]

games that run in 'pro' consoles also run in 'not-pro' consoles; the advantage between consoles and pcs is that you don't have to configure the console to run the game. It may run in lower resolution or whatever, but also for developers you have to develop for one and only one kind of device, with the vendor guarantee that it will always run the same; you don't have to rewrite the program to run in different kind of devices. If there were pros, pro-ii, pro turbo, pro mega turbo and so on, developers would lose part of the interest in developing for consoles, and people would lose interest in getting games that would only run in a specific model, despite having the console that in theory can run that game

 

[p_xavier]

You mean like a RAM expension, HDD add-on, a dIsc ROM drive and more CPU capacities?

 

[mansoor1980]

well sega tried it

 

[Mr Rawnch]

In a way, they have always existed with the "add-on" hardware of the 16-bit era.

 

[Captain Toad]

well sega tried it

Not really. They tried making new consoles that played different games, yet required you to own both consoles to play.

 

[mansoor1980]

Not really. They tried making new consoles that played different games, yet required you to own both consoles to play.

they were add ons to ensure backwards compaitibility to keep the owners of base megadrive/genesis happy

 

[Fbh]

Shadow of the Colossus at more than 15fps at launch

 

[Captain Toad]

they were add ons to ensure backwards compaitibility to keep the owners of base megadrive/genesis happy

They added BC by forcing you to not sell your old console?

They used the power of the base console to add a leap at a price cheaper than a standalone.

 

[ReBurn]

my thoughts is that Pro Consoles existed only due to the GPU jump in 2013, remember that both machines were less than 2Tflops

This is what made the mid gen refreshes possible. It became less possible to reduce prices of current machines because it started getting to the point where it cost about the same to make the more powerful processors as it did the less powerful ones. Since they couldn't just cut prices like they used to the better option seemed to be to replace the original with a better model that could try to help help keep consoles close to what PC gamers see pretty much every year.

 

[Mr Rawnch]

Arcade hardware was kinda taboo in a way. Why? The revenue stream was very independent and it was a way for developers that weren't exclusive to make a name for themselves.

The hardware was usually custom for a single game and most home ports had to be rebuilt from the ground up. When hardware got faster and smaller -- arcades started to lose their viability.

 

[PleaseDontBanMe]

32X and Sega CD were pro consoles

 

[Duchess]

NES Pro - Controller has a C button

SNES Pro - Comes with the CD ROM add-on. Doesn't prevent the creation of the Sony PlayStation.

GameBoy Pro - It's actually GameBoy Colour!

PS1 Pro - 2 CD drives, so you don't need to swap discs.

PS2 Pro - 4 controller ports!

PS3 Pro - Isn't really fucking expensive at launch.

PS4 Pro Pro - The DualShock 4 comes with a bigger battery

PS5 Pro - The screw is black.

 

[ReBurn]

PS1 Pro - 2 CD drives, so you don't need to swap discs.

Still couldn't play final fantasy VII without changing discs then

 

[mansoor1980]

They added BC by forcing you to not sell your old console?

They used the power of the base console to add a leap at a price cheaper than a standalone.

right and the whole idea flopped

 

[Drew1440]

Could have really done with a 360X or a PS3Pro, back when full 1080p screens were more common yet our games were still 720p

 

[Yoboman]

Devs would just be making 4k 30 FPS games instead of us getting used to multiple modes and having options now

 

[eastcoastkody]

32x. Sega CD.

 

[Chinpoko_Master]

Gaming would be better, probably. The PS3 and 360 could've especially benefitted from Pro console versions. There were lots of sub-HD and sub-30 fps games, and the RAM of those systems were really holding games back.

 

[Ev1L AuRoN]

I would hate it. Hope this trend die, 5 years and a new cycle is all I need.

 

[brian0057]

It killed Sega consoles.
Does that answer your question?

 

[Jigsaah]

Last gen we got hardware upgrades halfway through the cycle with the PS4 pro and Xbox one x. Imagine if Pro consoles had always been a thing that happened halfway through the gen though… how do you think it would have changed things? Would an SNES Pro have graphics like a Neo Geo? Would a PS1 Pro with more 60 fps games and more memory for better 2d Capcom arcade ports have been a big deal? Thoughts?

They kinda did somewhat. 32x was Sega's Pro console. N64 had the expansion pack allowing you to play Perfect Dark. Even the Xbox 360 had the slim and, more relevantly, the Elite SKU that added a lil bit of juice. I don't think pro consoles are a new concept...its moreso that Xbox One and PS4 were woefully underpowered and the need for those pro consoles was obvious.

 

[lostinblue]

They kinda did somewhat. 32x was Sega's Pro console. N64 had the expansion pack allowing you to play Perfect Dark. Even the Xbox 360 had the slim and, more relevantly, the Elite SKU that added a lil bit of juice. I don't think pro consoles are a new concept...its moreso that Xbox One and PS4 were woefully underpowered and the need for those pro consoles was obvious.

X360 elite didn't have extra juice, just a bigger HDD.

 

[LordOfChaos]

my thoughts is that Pro Consoles existed only due to the GPU jump in 2013, remember that both machines were less than 2Tflops

More than that it was the advent of 4K TVs and that being a bigger differentiator with PCs

Given that most console generations didn't have such a TV resolution leap to go with mid-gen, not sure

 

[Polygonal_Sprite]

The new consoles would seem like an even bigger leap because without a Pro / X some third party games would be running at 720/900p on last gen compared to 1440/1800/2160p at twice the framerate to boot on Series X / PS5.

 

[Celcius]

As others have said, seems like the x360 / ps3 generation could have really benefitted from pro consoles due to wanting 1080p but usually being 720p or even lower. Although I guess have a pro version of the Cell in the ps3 may have taken some extra work and perhaps made it even more difficult to program for.

 

[Blond]

my thoughts is that Pro Consoles existed only due to the GPU jump in 2013, remember that both machines were less than 2Tflops

I think the sudden affordability and rise in good quality 4k sets had more to do with it. They went from a luxury to just "normal" priced seemingly overnight. My KS8000 is 4 years old and looks great still but it's crazy what you can get for half the price these days.

 

[jigglet]

well sega tried it

And when they failed, they said: let's do it again, but this time we'll do it the same way.

 

[Tams]

It would be roughly the same as it's just a name.

 

[Jigsaah]

X360 elite didn't have extra juice, just a bigger HDD.

Fa real? Well I suppose "Extra Juice" is left up to interpretation. I just meant there was extra features or improvements. Been too long for me to remember what it was. Honestly, the biggest improvement was the consoles stability (no RLOD). But i get what you're saying. It wasn't like extra functionality like 32X or N64's expansion pack.

 

[Lysandros]

I hated the idea in the first place with the introduction of PS4 PRO and i hate the idea even more passionantly now. I don't like/want watered down generations. I have a smililar strong dislike for BC for the technical 'chains' that it requires. I am all for the visionary, ground braking architectures which last a full generation and the chase to reach 'full potential'.

 

[Outrunner]

Pro consoles did nothing to advance games...

 

[MikeM]

I hated it last gen mainly because the CPU was still garbage in the Pro models. This generation this doesn't seem to be the problem, but i'd also prefer to see shorter overall generations. 7 years is way too long.

 

[Kokoloko85]

Dreamcast pro would of been a beast and competed with PS2, Gamecube and Xbox lol. It would also have a DVD and GD Rom drive
Saturn pro could play 3D games alot better

 

[SafeOrAlone]

Good question. Don't want to think about it.

 

[cireza]

32X and Sega CD were pro consoles

They were better actually, as they had exclusive games that took advantage of the upgrade.

 

[StormCell]

Those who mentioned SNES are hitting the nail on the head. Super Nintendo had tons of pro consoles via additional processors and graphics chips in the cartridges. By the end of the 16-bit generation, the SNES was outputting graphics it never could have even come close to with the base vanilla hardware. It was practically fending off 32-bit consoles until Playstation arrived.