PS4 Pro Stocks Depleted on PlayStation Direct and Sony Isn’t Renewing Them

• Sony isn’t interested in continuing the sale of PS4 Pro devices anymore, so this could be the end of the road.
• The aged console wasn’t a bargain anymore, and its seven-year run has already stretched for long.
• The PS4 community may soon be forced to jump over to the PS5 universe, but Sony can’t even keep up with the demand for now.

Fans of the PS4 (PlayStation 4) line are worried about their favorite console’s future, as Sony could soon end support for it. The rumors have been rampant for a while, and what comes to throw fuel in the fire is that the PlayStation Direct store will no longer sell the console. Sony hasn’t restocked the item, which is typically a sign of a product preparing to enter the discontinuation phase. The company hasn’t officially confirmed anything, but it looks like this is what’s really happening here.

Before the release of PS5, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment Jim Ryan assured the PS4 community that they would continue to enjoy official support several years after the next-gen console’s launch. As he said, there are over 100 million owners of PS4 devices, and they expect to see a migration between 15% and 25% to the PS5 in the first two years. This leaves behind a respectable 75 million which cannot be left hanging, and Sony communicated its readiness to take that responsibility.

The demand for PlayStation 5, released last month, has been stellar thus far. COVID-induced lockdowns may have brought much greater sales for new gaming consoles, and the PS4 community may have shrunk a lot quicker than Sony had previously estimated. No matter what the PS5 adoption rates are, ending support for the previous generation would push more people to the newer device.

The PlayStation 4 has been around since November 2013, so it already had a long seven-year run. To be honest, buying the PS4 Pro doesn’t make much sense anymore. The $399 price tag looks extremely high for the aged (28nm) AMD Jaguar chip that powers the device. The standard PS5 costs only a hundred bucks more, while the “Digital Edition” is a value proposition at $399.99. Even if someone had a reason to get the PS4 Pro as we head into 2021, getting a used one for much less would be a lot more sensible.