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PlayStation Reveals PS5 Pro Price, Launch Date
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PlayStation has officially confirmed the release of its next console, the PS5 Pro.
The device will launch Nov. 7 and retail at $699.99 compared to its predecessor the PS5, which launched in November 2020 priced at $499 with a digital-only edition for $399. Preorders begin Sept. 26.
PS5 lead architect Mark Cerny unveiled the updated device during PlayStation’s live-streamed technical presentation Tuesday, noting its specs compared to Sony’s PS5 include larger GPU, advanced ray tracing and AI-driven upscaling.
Per PlayStation’s description for the PS5 Pro device:
- Upgraded GPU: With PS5 Pro, we are upgrading to a GPU that has 67% more Compute Units than the current PS5 console and 28% faster memory. Overall, this enables up to 45% faster rendering for gameplay, making the experience much smoother.
- Advanced Ray Tracing: We’ve added even more powerful ray tracing that provides more dynamic reflection and refraction of light. This allows the rays to be cast at double, and at times triple, the speeds of the current PS5 console.
- AI-Driven Upscaling: We’re also introducing PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, an AI-driven upscaling that uses a machine learning-based technology to provide super sharp image clarity by adding an extraordinary amount of detail.
PlayStation says several games will be patched with free software updates and marked with a “PS5 Pro Enhanced” label. Optimized games include “Alan Wake 2,” “Assassin’s Creed: Shadows,” “Demon’s Souls,” “Dragon’s Dogma 2,” “Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth,” “Gran Turismo 7,” “Hogwarts Legacy,” “Horizon Forbidden West,” “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2,” “Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart,” “The Crew Motorfest,” “The First Descendant,” “The Last of Us Part II Remastered” and more.
The PS5 Pro will come with a 2TB SSD, a DualSense wireless controller and a copy of “Astro’s Playroom” pre-installed. The device is available as a disc-less console, with the option to purchase the PS5 disc drive separately. A stand for the console will also be sold separately.
PlayStation says the height of the new PS5 Pro is equal to the original PS5, and the width is the same as the current “slim” edition of the PS5 model.
Sony’s announcement of its next console comes as the gaming industry is awaiting official word on the successor to Nintendo’s Switch, which the company says will be announced by March, and the rollout of Xbox’s special editions of the X and S Series this fall amid work on its next generation of consoles.
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World
Ukraine hits Moscow in largest drone strike since war began
![Ukraine hits Moscow in largest drone strike since war began Ukraine hits Moscow in largest drone strike since war began](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/09/Moscow.jpg)
Ukraine on Tuesday hit the Moscow region in series of drone strikes that killed one woman, destroyed dozens of homes and forced some 50 flights to be rerouted from the Russian capital, reporting by Reuters confirmed.
The attack on Moscow was reportedly the largest drone strike levied by Kyiv at Russia since the war began more than two and half years ago.
Russia, which has heavily relied on drones and missiles in its assault against Ukraine and routinely pummels Kyiv with a barrage of aerial assaults, said it destroyed at least 20 Ukrainian drones over the Moscow region along with another 124 across eight other regions.
A residential building outside of Moscow after it was hit in a series of drone strikes by Ukraine on Sept. 10, 2024. (Photo provided by East2West)
BLINKEN CONFIRMS IRAN SUPPLYING RUSSIA WITH SHORT-RANGE BALLISTIC MISSILES
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov suggested the attacks levied at the Russian capital, which has a population of some 21 million, were not legitimate military targets.
“There is no way that nighttime strikes on residential neighborhoods can be associated with military action,” he told reporters. “The Kyiv regime continues to demonstrate its nature.
“They are our enemies and we must continue the special military operation to protect ourselves from such actions,” he said, perpetuating the term used by Moscow to describe its invasion of Ukraine.
Kyiv has not yet commented on the overnight strike, but reportedly said Russia attacked it with some 46 drones, 38 of them destroyed by Ukrainian defenses.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday he will travel to Ukraine along with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy to meet with their Ukrainian counterpart and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later this week.
“It’s a critical moment to what is an intense, all-fighting season,” Blinken told reporters. “With Russia continuing to escalate its aggression – aggression against civilians, against critical infrastructure, and, of course, against Ukrainian forces – we see it ramping up its attacks on cities, people, in particular, targeting the energy infrastructure.”
![Moscow drone strike](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/09/1200/675/Moscow.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
The attack on Moscow was reportedly the largest drone strike levied by Kyiv at Russia since the war began more than two and half years ago. (Photo provided by East2West)
Blinken pointed to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “playbook” for weaponizing Ukraine’s energy infrastructure amid the cold winter months, as he has done the last two years, and said this upcoming trip reflects the U.S. and NATO’s commitment to ensuring Ukraine can defend itself against Russian attacks.
ROMANIA AND LATVIA CONFIRM INCURSIONS BY RUSSIAN DRONES INTO NATO AIRSPACE
It is unclear what specifically will be addressed during the Blinken-Lammy visit this week, though Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal echoed concerns addressed by the U.S. secretary of state on Tuesday and said some 85% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is protected against anticipated Russian attacks, reported the Kyiv Independent.
Ukrainians across the country, including in Kyiv, have been living with intermittent blackouts for months following Russia’s intense campaign against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in March – during which a reported 80% of thermal generating capacity of the nation’s largest private energy company, DTEK, was damaged or destroyed.
![Moscow drone strike](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/09/1200/675/Moscow-1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
A police officer stands guard near a damaged multistory residential building following an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in the Moscow region of Russia on Sept. 10, 2024. (Reuters/Maxim Shemetov)
Energy officials in June were sounding the alarm that Ukrainians may only have access to electricity for as little as six hours a day during this upcoming winter, depending on how much of the grid can be repaired.
Shmyhal on Tuesday did not specify how much of the grid has been restored or what lengths of power outages Ukrainians may be forced to endure this winter.
Instead, he highlighted the efforts being made to secure Ukraine’s energy industry and said the Ukrainian government had allocated some $461 million to protect energy facilities while an additional $315 million had been provided by foreign allies.
World
EU weighs 'strong' response to Iran's missile deliveries to Russia
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The bloc says it has ‘credible’ information Tehran is procuring Moscow with ballistic missiles.
The European Union has joined the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany in accusing Iran of supplying short-range ballistic missiles for Russia to wage its war in Ukraine.
The 27-country bloc has received “credible” evidence of the deliveries, according to a statement seen by Euronews, which adds that the weapons are likely assisting Moscow in its “escalatory bombing campaign against Ukrainian civilians, cities and civilian infrastructure, further increasing civilian casualties and destruction.”
“Such support to Russia’s terrorising campaign against Ukraine’s population will be met with a strong EU response,” the statement also says.
“High Representative (Josep) Borrell has already put to EU Member States a substantial set of decisive and targeted measures as part of EU’s response, which will have to be agreed unanimously by all Member States.“
The EU’s reaction came hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking alongside British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in London, promised fresh sanctions on Tehran for its procurement of the deadly weapons. It indicates that the West is moving in lockstep in its response.
The foreign ministers of the UK, France and Germany also issued a joint statement describing the move as an “escalation” by both Iran and Russia and a “direct threat to European security.”
The three European governments say they will consider a range of retaliatory measures, including cancelling bilateral air services agreements with Iran.
They will also explore sanctioning entities involved with Iran’s ballistic missile programme, as well as national airline Iran Air.
The European Union has already imposed sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities for delivering drones used in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The sanctions involve travel bans, asset freezes and restricting access to funds or economic resources.
But the latest accusations could see the bloc step up its own retaliatory measures.
Iran has so far rejected Western claims it is supplying the missiles to the Kremlin.
“We strongly reject the claims on Iran’s role in exporting arms to one side of the war,” a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday.
The latest claims of Iranian support to the regime in Moscow come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeks the permission of Western allies to strike targets deep inside Russia.
On Tuesday, Ukraine launched its biggest drone attack since the start of the war in February 2022, targeting the Moscow region.
World
SpaceX launches billionaire to conduct the first private spacewalk
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A daredevil billionaire rocketed back into orbit Tuesday, aiming to perform the first private spacewalk and venture farther than anyone since NASA’s Apollo moonshots.
Unlike his previous chartered flight, tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman shared the cost with SpaceX this time around, which included developing and testing brand new spacesuits to see how they’ll hold up in the harsh vacuum.
If all goes as planned, it will be the first time private citizens conduct a spacewalk, but they won’t venture away from the capsule. Considered one of the most riskiest parts of spaceflight, spacewalks have been the sole realm of professional astronauts since the former Soviet Union popped open the hatch in 1965, closely followed by the U.S. Today, they are routinely done at the International Space Station.
Isaacman, along with a pair of SpaceX engineers and a former Air Force Thunderbirds pilot, launched before dawn aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida. The spacewalk is scheduled for late Wednesday or Thursday, midway through the five-day flight.
But first the passengers are shooting for way beyond the International Space Station — an altitude of 870 miles (1,400 kilometers), which would surpass the Earth-lapping record set during NASA’s Project Gemini in 1966. Only the 24 Apollo astronauts who flew to the moon have ventured farther.
The plan is to spend 10 hours at that height — filled with extreme radiation and riddled with debris — before reducing the oval-shaped orbit by half. Even at this lower 435 miles (700 kilometers), the orbit would eclipse the space station and even the Hubble Space Telescope, the highest shuttle astronauts flew.
All four wore SpaceX’s spacewalking suits because the entire Dragon capsule will be depressurized for the two-hour spacewalk, exposing everyone to the dangerous environment.
Isaacman and SpaceX’s Sarah Gillis will take turns briefly popping out of the hatch. They’ll test their white and black-trimmed custom suits by twisting their bodies. Both will always have a hand or foot touching the capsule or attached support structure that resembles the top of a pool ladder. There will be no dangling at the end of their 12-foot (3.6-meter) tethers and no jetpack showboating. Only NASA’s suits at the space station come equipped with jetpacks, for emergency use only.
Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet and SpaceX’s Anna Menon will monitor the spacewalk from inside. Like SpaceX’s previous astronaut flights, this one will end with a splashdown off the Florida coast.
“We’re sending you hugs from the ground,” Launch Control radioed after the crew reached orbit. “May you make history and come home safely.”
Isaacman replied: “We wouldn’t be on this journey without all 14,000 of you back at SpaceX.”
At a preflight news conference, Isaacman — CEO and founder of the credit card processing company Shift4 — refused to say how much he invested in the flight. “Not a chance,” he said.
SpaceX teamed up with Isaacman to pay for spacesuit development and associated costs, said William Gerstenmaier, a SpaceX vice president who once headed space mission operations for NASA.
“We’re really starting to push the frontiers with the private sector,” Gerstenmaier said.
It’s the first of three trips that Isaacman bought from Elon Musk 2 1/2 years ago, soon after returning from his first private SpaceX spaceflight in 2021. Isaacman bankrolled that tourist ride for an undisclosed sum, taking along contest winners and a childhood cancer survivor. The trip raised hundreds of millions for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Spacesuit development took longer than anticipated, delaying this first so-called Polaris Dawn flight until now. Training was extensive; Poteet said it rivaled anything he experienced during his Air Force flying career.
As SpaceX astronaut trainers, Gillis and Menon helped Isaacman and his previous team — as well as NASA’s professional crews — prepare for their rides.
“I wasn’t alive when humans walked on the moon. I’d certainly like my kids to see humans walking on the moon and Mars, and venturing out and exploring our solar system,” the 41-year-old Isaacman said before liftoff.
Poor weather caused a two-week delay. The crew needed favorable forecasts not only for launch, but for splashdown days later. With limited supplies and no ability to reach the space station, they had no choice but to wait for conditions to improve.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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