The PS5 Pro is the wrong price at the wrong time

The PlayStation 5 had barely touched down on shelves in 2020 when players began begging for a Pro model. That was a testament to the success of the PS4 Pro in 2016, which successfully made the case for a mid-generation console upgrade. It increased the console’s power significantly, giving players a reason to upgrade ahead of major titles like Horizon Zero Dawn. It makes perfect sense that Sony would want to repeat that trick with the PS5.

Considering the years of hype, the grand reveal likely didn’t go as well as Sony hoped.

PlayStation’s Mark Cerny revealed the PS5 Pro in a nine-minute presentation on Tuesday that highlighted the new console’s upgraded GPU, AI-driven upscaling tech, and more. It all sounded great until the final moments revealed a whopping price tag: $700. The high cost now casts the anticipated console — and the entire PS5 generation — in a new light. Has Sony done enough over the past four years to convince players that the PS5 Pro is a smart investment? Technical enthusiasts may be convinced, but it’s going to be a very hard sell for most players.

Wrong price

In a vacuum, the PS5 Pro is a perfectly good idea. Sony’s nine-minute presentation made a fine case for the upgrade mostly thanks to its AI upscaling tech, which brings the best feature of modern PC gaming to a home console. The core selling point here is that the PS5 Pro will no longer force players to choose between Graphics and Performance Mode if they want the highest-quality visuals running at 60 frames per second. Considering that this console generation has struggled to deliver consistent frame rates, the new console solves a major problem.

The caveat to all of that is price. The console will retail at $700. That’s $300 more than the PS4 Pro cost in 2016. To make matters worse, it will be digital only. If you want to buy an attachable disc drive, that’ll cost you another $80. It doesn’t come with a vertical stand either, so players who want to replace their current PS5 might be