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PS5 Pro has bigger problems than the price

This is the first in a series of regular guest columns by Press squarethe world's largest independent PlayStation website. We are the voice of the PlayStation community, providing passionate, in-depth coverage and insight into the world of Sony. Our goal is simple: to keep you informed, involved and involved in the discussion around all things PlayStation.

The PS5 Pro launched on November 7 for a whopping $700, and it's already facing a lot of criticism from its fans: In a poll this week, a whopping 89% of Push Square enthusiasts thought the mid-generation machine was “too expensive.” Sony now faces the unenviable task of convincing its most dedicated customers that the console is worth the investment. But with many feeling that the PS5 generation hasn't really gotten going yet, the PS5 Pro's problems seem to go beyond price.

This was perhaps best evidenced by lead system architect Mark Cerny's decision to spotlight The Last of Us: Part 2 Remastered during his PS5 Pro presentation – a remaster of a 2020 PS4 game, albeit an undeniably beautiful one. While it's good to know that the game will run at an unwavering 60 frames per second in its 4K mode on Sony's new super system, there are few who find the astronomical $700 price tag justified for an enhanced last-gen title.

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89% of Push Square readers think the PS5 Pro is too expensive. Do you agree?

To Cerny's credit, he did highlight some improvements to full-fledged PS5 exclusives like Marvel's Spider-Man 2, but the general sentiment remains that the base PS5 hasn't reached its full potential yet. Tentpole first-party titles like God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, and Gran Turismo 7 all look and play great on the PS5, but they're also available on the PS4, which raises the question of whether they're even pushing the capabilities of Sony's base hardware.

A prolonged cross-gen period that continued to release titles for both the PS5 and PS4 has left early adopters feeling short-changed, as they expected the PS5's power to be fully exploited much sooner. Older consoles are typically left behind within a year or two, but bloated development budgets and pandemic-related stock shortages have meant that last-gen systems are still very relevant today. We're fast approaching the PS5's fourth anniversary, and yet many big titles continue to be developed with the decade-old PS4 in mind, including upcoming releases like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Metaphor: ReFantazio.

How can [PS5 Pro’s] Is the expensive existence justified when games are still being developed with the last generation of machines in mind?

All of this puts the PS5 Pro's value for money in a precarious position: how to justify its costly existence when games are still being developed with last-gen machines in mind? Among the PlayStation-obsessed crowd on Push Square, just 9% of users say they're willing to buy the supercharged system at launch – a dramatic drop from the 24% who opted for the PS4 Pro at the time of the announcement.

Although industry data says the PS4 Pro only accounted for about 13% of total PS4 installed base, it was generally received more optimistically. The timing of the system's release coincided with a rise in 4K TV usage, making the promise of improvements to existing 1080p content more enticing. Moreover, Sony had long since left the PS3 behind by the time the PS4 Pro was unveiled, and already had acclaimed exclusives like Bloodborne and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End on the market, and was anticipating adventures like Horizon Zero Dawn on the, well, horizon.

The sad reality is that we're already halfway through the generation and don't yet know what's coming next from the likes of Naughty Dog. Development cycles have stretched so much that we might only get one true native PS5 title from the first-party favorite – a marked change from the PS3 era, which saw the entire Uncharted trilogy and The Last of Us released in a single console cycle.

GTA 6 and Marvel's Wolverine are expected to test the current generation of hardware next year, but they're just two upcoming examples in a generation that's been unusually slow to get going. Those who bought the PS5 in 2020 didn't expect to have to wait this long for titles that really push the capabilities of their consoles, and that makes the PS5 Pro's existence seem all the more unnecessary.

Sony will argue that the PS5 Pro is simply about offering flexibility to gamers and giving them the option to experience high-resolution graphics and smoother frame rates if they prefer. But it is clear, at least after the console's announcement, that Fans don’t feel like their existing systems have been testedAnd that means the PS5 Pro still has a lot to prove – even beyond its eye-watering price.

Sammy Barker is editor of Press square. He has lived and breathed the wonderful world of PlayStation for decades – and has the tattoos to prove it. You can find him on @_get2sammyb.

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