The launch of the PS5 Pro two years ago created a dilemma both for PS5 owners and new buyers. Most people can't fork out for another console so soon or might not want to consider paying $900 for a console at all, but it was hard not to be envious of PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), Sony's AI-powered upscaling tech.
PSSR brings lower-resolution game graphics up to the standard of a high-definition 4K picture. It makes older games look sharper and more detailed... but $300 sharper? Now PS5 owners have at least one reason to be less envious. AI upscaling is coming to the standard PS5, making it clearly still one of the best game consoles.
The base PS5 isn't getting PSSR but a new tier of AI upscaling called QSSR: Quick Spectral Super Resolution.
For now, it's been added in patches for two games: Marvel's Wolverine and Ghost of Yotei (see the comparisons below).
How is PS5 AI upscaling possible on the standard console?
Sony Interactive Entertainment principal engineer of graphics R&D, Daniel Craig notes on the PlayStation Blog that the computational approach of PSSR, which analyses game images pixel by pixel and uses AI to upscale them with more detail and stability, was impossible to bring to the standard PS5.
QSSR was made possible by two innovations: a "streamlined neural network architecture" and "a hand-tuned implementation that maximizes performance on PS5". Together these work to provide "some notable improvements to both image detail and image stability".
Note that this is not the same kind of AI tech as Nvidia's DLSS 5, which has caused such a storm over how it appears to actually change a game's assets, lighting and the appearances of characters. PSSR and QSSR sharpen existing visuals without changing their basic appearance.
Mike Fitzgerald, head of technology at Insomniac Games, says that "QSSR adds more pixel-level clarity and stability to our environments, bringing out extra detail amidst the busy streets of Madripoor, the dense alleyways of Shinjuku, and many other areas across Logan’s epic journey".
It remains to be seen how soon QSSR will be adopted by other developers and to what extent it will be applied to the PS5's back catalogue, but for now PS5 owners can be optimistic that they no longer have cause to be too envious of the Pro.
People aren't going to forgive Sony for its decision to kill physical discs, but it's very welcome to see a manufacturer upgrade the features of a previous console almost six years after release when a newer, more expensive successor is already on the market.
