PlayStation 4 Pro consoles are no longer available on PlayStation Direct, and Sony says that they won’t be coming back to the online store. Players are also still having trouble getting ahold of the PS5, but that’s because demand for the recently released console has so far outpaced Sony’s ability to produce them.
After the announcement of the PS5, there was some concern among PlayStation fans that the PS4 would quickly be phased out, especially after Sony played up the importance of differentiating the two console generations. Not long after that, though, the company reaffirmed its support of the PS4, saying that it wouldn’t be leaving the older console behind for another few years at least. Given the extremely positive reception from fans that many PS4 exclusives have gotten this year, combined with the difficulty most people are having finding a PS5, that should come as no surprise. However, it now seems that Sony’s continued support of the PS4 comes with some caveats.
Both the base PS4 and PS4 Pro are currently out of stock on PlayStation Direct, but as TheGamer reports, that may be permanent in the case of the PS4 Pro. On the upgraded console’s store page, there is an additional note stating “There are currently no plans to restock this item in the future.” The base PS4’s page doesn’t include the same notice, so presumably it will be available on the store again at some point.
There are sure to be some disappointed players who were hoping to score a deal on the PS4 Pro now that the PS5 is out, but its delisting does make a lot of sense. Sony is currently struggling to put PS5s on store shelves, and it would need to divert some of that capacity to making more PS4 Pros to keep them in stock as well. Given that the PS4 Pro is the same price as the PS5 Digital Edition, it would also need to offer them at a pretty steep discount to attract any potential customers. From Sony’s perspective, that would seem to add up to a lot of work for very little reward.
Anyone looking to get in late on the last generation can still do so with the base PS4, though. There’s still plenty of reason to do so, given just how many all-time great games were released for the console and will likely continue to be available on it. For those who missed the PlayStation 4 entirely and are able to hold out for the PS5 to become available sometime next year, there’s also the option of the PS Plus Collection to catch up on some of the last generation’s biggest hits.
Source: PlayStation Direct (via TheGamer)