The PS5 Pro has formally been revealed with a ton of features that will surely improve PlayStation players’ experience. At least for the people who can afford one. Although PSSR (which is a wild acronym for its AI driven upscaling system), a larger GPU, and upgraded ray tracing is nice, much of the gaming community agrees it may not be worth the $699.99 price.
What are gamers saying about the PS5 Pro price?
To see what the gaming community is saying about the PS5 Pro price point, look no further than the official PlayStation Twitter post for its enhanced system. The replies seem to unanimously agree that the $699.99 price point is a big ask.
A good chunk of the replies reference the PS5 Pro’s lack of a disc drive or stand. It’s not certain that these users would have purchased the console at the same price if it did include these accessories. However, that did not stop them from publicly displaying their distaste with Sony’s listing.
Twitter user @mrpyo1 said, “800 euros with no disc drive is actually mental.” Another user named @CS11__ showed their sadness with a crying emoji, saying, “No disc drive and no stand for £700.” One user named @SynthPotato asks the question, “$700 and without a disk drive is an INSANE ask, who is this console for?” Again, much of the replies on the thread imply the price is way too high, especially when the PS5 Pro doesn’t include the disc drive.
700$ and without a disk drive is an INSANE ask, who is this console for??— Ameer (@SynthPotato) September 10, 2024
Another user named @DeceptiveSmoke compared the PS4 Pro’s launch prices with today’s reveal of the PS5 Pro prices. Although these aren’t really one to one comparisons at all, it is interesting to see that the PS4 Pro launched at $399, the same price of the launch model. In contrast, the PS5 Pro’s price is $200 more than its base launch model, which is a fairly significant jump.
Additionally, Geoff Keighley tweeted his normal post event tweet where he asks his audience what they thought of the PlayStation Technical Presentation. As of right now, with over 24,000 votes, 8.9% gave it an A, 12% a B, 18.7% a C, and a whopping 60.3% a D or below. Again, many of the replies to Keighley’s post reference the disc drive, as well as the “big three” features not justifying the price.
How would you grade today’s PlayStation Technical Presentation?— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) September 10, 2024
There are a number of potential reasons the price tag is as high as it is. The PS5 Pro’s big three features are more in line with current PC gaming. The hardware needed to achieve these enhance visuals and performance features are not cheap, leading to the higher price point.
Another factor could be the current state of Japan’s economy. The Yen has weakened in recent times, which is a factor Sony has mentioned for its recent PS5 price jump in Japan. While a statement has not been made, Sony also recently increased the price of its DualSense PS5 controllers.
With that being said, the gamers have spoken. The PS5 Pro $699.99 price tag might just be a bit too much. However, those who do have the means of purchasing the new console can do so when preorders go live on September 26, 2024. It launches on November 7, 2024.