After plenty of leaks and speculation, Sony has officially pulled back the curtain on the PS5 Pro. It’s an improvement over the existing PS5—but I don’t think I’ll be adding it to my game room. Here’s a look at why I’m taking a pass on the PS5 Pro, even though it’s the most powerful console on the market.
It’s Hard to Stomach the $700 Price Tag
The main reason I’m choosing not to pick up the PS5 Pro is its eye-watering price tag. Clocking in at $700, it’s a full $200 more expensive than the PS5 Slim. Not only does my current PS5 play all the same games as the PS5 Pro, but it’s unclear how many upcoming titles will make full use of the PS5 Pro’s improved power—or what exactly they’ll look like.
The technical presentation showed off snippets of titles like Horizon Forbidden West, Spider-Man 2, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart running on the PS5 Pro, and they all looked great in action. But I’m not looking to replay games I’ve already beaten. And while Sony says upcoming games like Assassin’s Creed: Shadows will run better on the PS5 Pro, that’s not nearly enough to get me to buy in.
Until I see extended gameplay sequences of multiple upcoming games (and a comparison to PS5 gameplay), it’s hard to justify the price tag.
Performance Is Great, but It’s Lacking a Disc Drive
With a GPU capable of churning out 45% faster rendering than the existing PS5, enhanced ray tracing, and new AI upscaling, the PS5 Pro lets you run games with high fidelity graphics at a buttery smooth 60fps. But while the hardware inside the PS5 Pro is impressive, there’s one noticeable omission—a disc drive.
That means I’ll need to drop another $80 for the PS5 Disc Drive to play the dozens of physical titles I already own. It seems like a big oversight, especially when the rest of the hardware is such a marked improvement.
Many players (including myself) love the ability to buy and play physical games. It’s also nice that my existing PS5 can double as a Blu-ray player, allowing me to watch films and TV shows from my collection. Moving to a system without an optical drive would be a step back in that regard, even if the rest of the hardware is an undeniable upgrade.
There Aren’t Any Groundbreaking Features to Explore
The PlayStation 5 Pro isn’t a PlayStation 6. That means all the features available on the PS5 Pro (DualSense controllers, swappable faceplates, trophies, etc.) are already present on the PS5. Your $700 investment is essentially allowing you to play games with slightly better performance. There’s no exclusive DualSense controller, no exclusive in-game content, and no other features to sell the console beyond its enhanced graphical prowess.
For shoppers who need the most cutting-edge gadgets on the market, that might be enough.
Personally, I’d rather take that $700 and buy ten new PS5 games. I’ve had no problem running all my PS5 games in Performance Mode over the past few years, as they still look great and benefit from 60fps. And with so many big titles arriving in the coming months, that $700 could be better used to continue building my library.
Maybe the PS5 Pro will get a price drop for the holidays. Maybe we’ll get a closer look at how upcoming games will make full use of its new hardware. Or maybe I’m just not the target audience for this expensive console. Whatever the case may be, I’ll continue to enjoy my time with the PS5—and if I need the benefit of better graphics, I’ll jump over to my gaming PC.
