To the surprise of no one, the leaks were correct: Sony plans to introduce a Playstation 5 Pro to the market this fall. The look of it is exactly as the documents suggested, a similar shape with extra racing stripes added.
The PS5 Pro contains the marginal improvements we’ve come to expect from a mid-generation upgrade: it plays more games in 4K 60FPS, its ray tracing traces more rays, and it ships with a larger SSD inside (2 TB). However, this time, its reveal was met with reactions of annoyance and anger, as even people who were anticipating the console felt let down. The issue: the PS5 Pro is absurdly expensive.
The sticker price when the unit will go on sale is $700, the highest price yet. But it doesn’t stop there. The console does not come with a disc drive; you must buy one separately if you prefer physical media (or you just want to play your PS4 games for pete’s sake). That adds on another $80, and unlike the base PS5, the set doesn’t come with the vertical stand either, adding another $25 if you want it. This pushes the final price of a PS5 Pro past $800.
The biggest strategy flaw in this — if Sony has a strategy at all — is that “pro” consoles are never a necessity. To date, no major console has ever had a game released that required the Pro version to run. Pro consoles are mostly for late adopters who want to start with the best version, but that desire could be tempered if the product is almost twice as much as the base console.
Our prediction: the PS5 Pro will sell well to scalpers, but beyond that, most gamers are going to see the price and walk the other direction. The release date is November 7.
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