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PlayStation 5 Pro: 5 Burning Questions We Have About Sony's New Console
At long last, Sony has peeled back the curtain on the PlayStation 5 Pro. This new console will be significantly more powerful than the standard PS5, delivering new upscaling tech, better framerates, and significantly improved ray tracing capabilities. But that increased power also comes at an increased cost.
While we wait for the November 7 release of the PS5 Pro, let’s break down the biggest questions surrounding this new console right now. Is the higher price tag justified? How many games will actually take advantage of this raw horsepower? And why the heck are we still being charged extra for a stand? These are our PS5 Pro burning questions.
Is It Really Too Expensive?
The PlayStation 5 Pro was easily one of the worst-kept secrets in the gaming world, so the announcement didn’t exactly come as a surprise to most gamers. What did shock many, however, was the price tag. Sony is charging $699 for the Pro, which is quite a jump over the $449 MSRP of the disc drive-less standard PS5. A lot of gamers feel that the PS5 Pro is simply too expensive.
But is that a fair assessment? Yes, the price difference is quite a bit more than what we saw with the PS4 and PS4 Pro. But Sony is specifically touting the majorly upgraded GPU. When you consider that, on the PC gaming front, a decent midrange card like a Radeon RX 6800 costs in the neighborhood of $500 on its own, is $699 for a full-fledged, high-end gaming machine really such a bad deal?
Consider also that the PlayStation 3 originally launched at $600 back in 2006. This isn’t the first time Sony has put out new hardware at a significant premium over competitors. The PS3 may have been twice the price of the Nintendo Wii at the time, but it was also immensely more powerful. And let’s not forget that the newly announced iPhone 16, which is designed to play AAA games with hardware-accelerated ray tracing, starts at an MSRP of $999.
Is $699 for a full-fledged, high-end gaming machine really such a bad deal?
On the other hand, the PS3 comparison doesn’t quite hold water when you consider that that console represented a generational leap forward in graphical fidelity. The PS5 Pro is merely a mid-generation overhaul of an existing console.
And as for the iPhone, it may be quite a bit more expensive than a PS5 Pro, but it’s also a far more versatile multimedia device (and, of course, a phone!). A Steam Deck may be a better point of comparison, and even the highest-end model is still cheaper than the PS5 Pro.
At the end of the day, the PS5 Pro probably isn’t overpriced for what it offers. Yes, you can build a modest gaming PC for $699, but that PC is not going to be capable of competing on the same graphical playing field. Even with a price tag this high, we wouldn’t be surprised if Sony is selling this console at a loss.
The real question is whether the PS5 Pro offers enough benefits to justify the 64% increase in price over the base model. We’ll have to wait until we see real-world benchmarks and get an idea of how games actually look and perform on the new console.
How Many Games Will Be PS5 Pro Enhanced?
The main selling point of the PS5 Pro is obvious - it’s meant to offer superior game performance compared to the standard PS5. The goal with this system is to eliminate the need for separate performance and fidelity modes. No longer do gamers need to choose between a high, stable framerate and the best possible resolution. The Pro does both at the same time.
It remains to be seen when and even if we’ll see games developed from the ground up with the PS5 Pro in mind. But we do know that many existing PS5 games will be “PS5 Pro Enhanced,” meaning they’ll receive updates to take full advantage of the more powerful hardware. That list includes Alan Wake 2, Gran Turismo 7, Hogwarts Legacy, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, among many others.
The question is just how many games will be PS5 Pro Enhanced. Will this become a standard feature going forward? Will Sony make it mandatory for new games to support the PS5 Pro? Will we continue to see older first-party titles added to the PS5 Pro Enhanced lineup, such as the God of War games or the earlier Spider-Man games?
And what about the PS4 catalog? We know that Sony is looking to enhance last-gen games as well through features like PS5 Pro Game Boost and Enhanced Image Quality. Just how much of the PS4 back catalog is supported, and will we see new games added to that lineup over time?
How devoted is Sony to ensuring that new and existing games take advantage of this more powerful hardware? And more to the point, what happens if the PS5 Pro doesn’t sell well out of the gate? Sony made a big push with VR gaming when the PSVR2 hit in February 2023, but that’s since tapered off as it’s become clear the headset is a niche product. If gamers aren’t sold on the PS5 Pro’s higher price tag, how aggressive will Sony be in marketing the PS5 Pro Enhanced catalog 6-12 months down the line?
Will Developers Charge for PS5 Pro Enhancement?
We imagine Sony wants as many games as possible to be included in the PS5 Pro Enhanced catalog, and that every major game in development right now probably includes PS5 Pro support in one form or another. But will we see some developers charge for the ability to take advantage of the new hardware? Will “PS5 Pro Enhanced” become a paid upgrade in some cases?
For the most part, we’d guess not. Sony gave no indication in their presentation that these would be paid upgrades, and it might be a tough sell to expect gamers to fork over the money for the new hardware and pay even more on top of that to actually enjoy the full benefits of gaming on the PS5 Pro.
In the case of games that are also available on the PC, we imagine that most of the work has been done already when it comes to making enhanced game modes available for better hardware. In short, we doubt “PS5 Pro Enhanced” will be a paid upgrade in most cases, except when significantly more work is being done to update the base game for the new hardware. Charging more simply for a better framerate and resolution isn’t going to cut it.
How Much Better Will GTA 6 Look on PS Pro?
At this point, the PS5 Pro’s success may be inextricably tied to Grand Theft Auto 6. GTA 6 is quickly shaping up to be one of the most important games ever released, and it’s going to be a huge system seller. Will it wind up being the biggest argument in favor of buying a PS5 Pro?
The trailer for GTA 6 is nothing if not visually stunning, leaving us to wonder if the actual game can truly live up to that early tease. The incredibly detailed character models and environments and advanced lighting techniques promise to push the current-gen consoles to their limits. The standard PS5 and the Xbox Series X will probably be lucky to run at a stable 30 fps. Just how much better will the experience be on the PS5 Pro? It's a question with a surprisingly complicated answer.
Based on our technical analysis of the GTA 6 trailer, the game seems to be running at 30 fps at an internal base resolution of 1440p. Can the PS5 Pro beat that? Will this be the only way to play GTA 6 at 60fps and/or 4K resolution? Is this where we’ll see what Sony’s new PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution tech is capable of?
With GTA 6 not hitting the PC immediately, it’s probably safe to assume that the PS5 Pro version of the game will be the best-looking and best-playing version of the game out of the gate. But just how stark a difference will there be? Will the game simply run more smoothly, or will it truly feel like a mid-generational leap in quality? If it’s the latter, we could see a whole lot more gamers suddenly making the switch to the PS5 Pro a year from now.
Why Aren't the Disc Drive and Stand Included?
As we’ve already explored, the PS5 Pro probably isn’t overpriced given the sheer, raw processing power Sony is working with here. But that doesn’t mean $699 isn’t a hard pill for most gamers to swallow. And Sony has made it that much more difficult to stomach by omitting two basic pieces of hardware - the disc drive and the stand.
The absence of the disc drive isn’t necessarily surprising, given how both Sony and Microsoft have begun to downplay discs in recent years. And it’s not as if the option isn’t still there. It just requires gamers to fork over $80 for the disc drive attachment.
Still, the absence of a disc drive stings. Sony really couldn’t have thrown us a bone and included a disc drive with their most expensive version of the PS5? With ridiculously high resolution being the big selling point here, don’t you want to encourage owners to take full advantage of the system and watch 4K Blu-rays rather than stream all their video content? And what about the people who are upgrading from a standard PS5 with disc drive to the Pro? Why force them to choose between paying an extra $80 and paying to “upgrade” to digital versions of their games?
And what about the people who are upgrading from a standard PS5 with disc drive to the Pro? Why force them to choose between paying an extra $80 and paying to "upgrade" to digital versions of their games?
As for the stand, that’s just rubbing salt in the wound. Is it really necessary to charge $30 for a vertical stand? Sony really couldn’t have just thrown in the darned thing to the people forking over the better part of a month’s rent on their new console?
The real problem here is that these extra purchases quickly add up. If you want to be able to display your PS5 Pro standing up and use your collection of physical games and Blu-rays, suddenly the cost of a PS5 Pro is approaching $800. In this economy? Sony might be asking too much of gamers by nickel and dining them with these extra add-ons.
But what do you think? Is the high price tag justified? Will the PS5 Pro be the ultimate way to play GTA 6? What are your biggest questions surrounding the new hardware? Let us know in the comments below.
