$700 is an Absurd Price for the PS5 Pro

As a long-time PlayStation fan who has weathered through numerous console generations, I must admit that the latest announcement of the PS5 Pro left me feeling quite perplexed. With a hefty price tag of $700 and questionable improvements, it’s hard not to feel like Sony is trying to pull a fast one on us.

The PS5 Pro, long-rumored and anticipated, was finally unveiled by Sony, but the initial response has been underwhelming due to a brief 9-minute presentation that didn’t quite live up to expectations. Mark Cerny, the lead system architect, tried his best to emphasize the console’s enhancements, but they seemed less enticing than promised. The PS5 Pro boasts a larger GPU, faster rendering, increased focus on ray tracing, superior and smoother frame rates, and an innovative proprietary supersampling technology in PSSR. On paper, these features suggest significant progress; however, the first impression is lackluster, especially considering the console’s high price point that some have deemed exorbitant.

On November 7, Sony plans to release the PS5 Pro, priced at $699.99. Given their history of questionable pricing strategies throughout the PS5 generation, this price might surprise you. To be frank, the base PS5 already seems overpriced, a sentiment worsened by various price hikes for the console and its accessories in different regions. Moreover, they’ve increased game prices to $70, raised PlayStation Plus subscription fees, priced the PS VR2 higher than its launch console, and so on. Despite the consistent trend of high pricing from Sony, the steep cost of the PS5 Pro still manages to shock.

To kick things off, it’s worth noting that for numerous individuals, the PS5 Pro might appear superfluous even at this stage. With almost four years under the PS5’s belt, we’re merely scratching the surface of this console generation. For a considerable length of time, cross-gen games dominated the market, and it’s only recently that developers have been producing games tailored for the current generation more frequently. We’ve surpassed the halfway point in this console generation, yet the PS5 is still having trouble justifying its high cost. Launching a console that promises enhanced power when the original hardware is only now finding its footing doesn’t seem like a sound decision from the outset.

When the mid-generation upgrade for the console costs a steep $700, Sony must present a compelling debut for the PS5 Pro to justify its price tag. The initial unveiling of the PS5 Pro should have showcased significant advantages over the base model in a way that left no doubt about its superiority, given it costs as much as it does. Unfortunately, the reveal didn’t quite live up to these expectations. To put it gently, it failed to meet them.

A substantial part of Mark Cerny’s 9-minute presentation revealing the PS5 Pro focused on demonstrating gameplay footage from titles running on the console, contrasting them with the same games running on a standard PS5. However, many found this portion disappointing. While it’s true that Gran Turismo 7 looks stunning with ray tracing, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart boasts more detailed backgrounds, and the idea of playing The Last of Us Part 2 at 60 FPS with high visual quality is enticing – these improvements, however, are minor in comparison to what was expected from a console that will retail for $700. In other words, the initial showcase failed to impress, to put it mildly.

$700 is an Absurd Price for the PS5 Pro

It’s not helping the situation that Sony hasn’t shown gameplay footage of the PS5 Pro for major upcoming titles such as “Death Stranding 2: On the Beach,” especially since many of the games they did show – like “Control,” “Horizon Forbidden West,” “Gran Turismo 7,” and “The Last of Us Part 2” – are cross-generational games, which may not be the best choices to highlight the power of an upgraded console when these games weren’t even pushing the limits of the base PS5. In other words, it seems like another questionable decision by Sony regarding the PS5 Pro, as using these games to demonstrate the capabilities of a more powerful version of the console doesn’t make sense if they were not optimized for the original PS5.

By the way, I must say, it’s quite irritating, though not critically important in the grand scheme of things. Sony, pricing your mid-gen console refresh at $700 seems audacious, to put it mildly. And just a heads up, that price doesn’t even cover the cost of a disc drive, which is interestingly another move towards pushing consumers into the digital realm where ownership isn’t always permanent, not even for games you’ve already purchased. Could you please avoid charging separately for the console’s vertical stand? Because seriously, it feels like nickel-and-diming to no end.

It’s clear that some people argue the PS5 Pro isn’t designed for a broad audience but rather for enthusiasts. It’s undeniable that among this group, the PS5 Pro will perform well, regardless of its cost. However, it’s difficult not to see it as an unnecessary expense given that the standard PS5 is still finding its stride, making it questionable how much more can be done with the PS5 Pro that would be particularly impressive. And if this is the console Sony is releasing, spending $700 on it seems like an unnecessary extravagance.

$700 is an Absurd Price for the PS5 Pro

It’s puzzling why Sony would introduce the PS5 Pro when the original PS5 still holds a lot of untapped potential for developers due to the slow start of this console generation. Unlike the PS4, which was already outdated upon its release, the PS5 has ample power that hasn’t been fully utilized yet. So, it seems unnecessary to create a more powerful console at this time.

It’s hard to fathom a function the PS5 Pro could offer that would justify such a high cost, but if nothing else, we can anticipate seeing upcoming titles like Death Stranding 2, Grand Theft Auto 6, and others running on a PS5 Pro as soon as possible, ideally showcasing significant and substantial improvements over their performance on the standard PS5. That’s the caliber of improvement the PS5 Pro needs to deliver in order to even begin approaching justifying its price tag.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

2024-09-11 18:11

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