The paradigm has been shifting for a long time now from quantity of pixels to quality of pixels and in bringing machine learning-based upscaling to consoles for the first time, PSSR allows developers to spend more system resources on how good a game can look as opposed to how high the resolution is. Now, don't get me wrong, upscaling quality does tend to improve the higher the base resolution - but it's down to developers now to choose the best balance for their games. Should they go for a 1080p presentation richer in detail, or a higher resolution 1440p alternative? Developers will need to make that call - but ultimately, it's all about the quality of the final presentation. The flexibility of machine learning-based upscaling means that 'how good the game looks' takes precedence over 'how high the pixel count is'.
Just to be clear then: if a game runs at a 'low' resolution on PS5, and an equally 'low' resolution on PS5 Pro, they are not the same thing. Improved upscaling makes a difference, but bearing in mind the extra horsepower of the Pro, we can imagine that the developers are doing more with those pixels. The extent to which this is going to be successful is ultimately down to a more subjective assessment of the presentation for each title - and that's what we'll be looking at once software arrives for review. In the meantime, enjoy this Direct and look forward to more PS5 Pro coverage.