I took the PS5 Pro for a first test drive. Now I’m a believer

At Tokyo Game Show 2024, hundreds of thousands of people gathered to get their eyes and hands on the latest and greatest in interactive entertainment. Digital Trends was there checking out the hottest titles, including Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Dynasty Warriors: Origins, and The First Berzerker: Khazan (starring industry darling and class clown Ben Starr).

The largest presence at the event may have been Sony, and it was at its booth that I went hands-on with its newest hardware, the PlayStation 5 Pro, for the first time. I put the console through its paces and came away intrigued after seeing the stellar image quality and smooth action for myself. While it may be pricey, this upgrade may be what finally unlocks the graphical promises of this generation.

Tower of power

On the edge of the PlayStation booth is a lit dais surrounded by a velvet rope. Atop it sits a PS5 Pro and the newer, slimmer PS5 base model. There’s a guard keeping watch to make sure no one gets any big ideas. I’m told it’s OK to approach the consoles and look, but not touch. What’s immediately apparent is the Pro is noticeably taller than the updated standard edition PS5. Its height sitting on its stand (which is sold separately) is roughly the same as the original base PS5, though the lack of a disk drive (also sold separately) gives it a skinnier profile.

The black grill near the midpoint of the console is more of a matte black, not as glossy as the shiny veneer on the front of the box. The rear of the Pro has the same LAN, USB, and power connections, in the same order as the base model. The white shells feature the same PlayStation logo engraving as the rest of Sony’s console lineup, and the system utilizes the same controllers as its current generation brethren.