To be able to afford something means more than just having the money that it costs. It also means having the requisite desire and perceived need to convince yourself its cost is commensurate with its value. When I say I can’t afford to take a $40 Uber home from the office but then spend $60 on Uber Eats when I get home, what I’m saying is I find being cooked for to be more valuable than being chauffeured. (Especially as I live in a city with both the best food and the best public transportation system in the country—no matter how badly we New Yorkers talk about the latter.)
Likewise, when Kotaku staff writer Zack Zwiezen claims $700 for a PS5 Pro is a “fair trade,” yet our senior editor Alyssa Mercante writes, “I can’t justify spending more on a video game console than I do during a quarterly Botox session,” what they’re telling us is which experiences they value enough to pay a premium for.
My version of Alyssa’s Botox argument is that for the cost of a PS5 that’s only slightly more advanced than the one I already own, I could just as easily buy two or three sick RRL pieces for the fall, my favorite season for dressing. So, that’ll probably be my next big purchase, not the PS5 Pro.
But maybe you’re still on the fence. If you are, read on to get Zack and Alyssa’s diverging thoughts in full, as well as the internet’s reaction to Sony’s announcement, side-by-side comparisons between games on the PS5 and PS5 Pro, and information about when you’ll be able to pre-order one if you care about graphics more than Botox or fashion.