PlayStation has officially lost it!

During the recent PlayStation showcase the new PS5 pro was announced. It will cost consumers $699, this does not include a disc drive, or a stand. Those will cost you another $80 for the drive and $20 for the stand. It is worth noting that the original model of the PS5 launched in 2020 with both a stand and disc drive at only $499, so how did we get here to a $200 price increase? Well in short this being a “Pro”  model is supposed to justify the price hike, Spoiler alert It DOES NOT. I am all for paying for quality, however at the time of writing the “Pro” models are underwhelming to say the least. Per the PlayStation blog site:

Upgraded GPU: “With PS5 Pro, we are upgrading to a GPU that has 67% more Compute Units than the current PS5 console and 28% faster memory. Overall, this enables up to 45% faster rendering for gameplay, making the experience much smoother.”

Advanced Ray Tracing: “We’ve added even more powerful ray tracing that provides more dynamic reflection and refraction of light. This allows the rays to be cast at double, and at times triple, the speeds of the current PS5 console.”

AI-Driven Upscaling: “We’re also introducing PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, an AI-driven upscaling that uses a machine learning-based technology to provide super sharp image clarity by adding an extraordinary amount of detail.”

I can tell you from experience the current models of PS5 run smoothly as is. At the time of writing we have not seen enough games push the boundaries of what this hardware can do to justify the price increase. This move screams money grab, and unfortunately Playstation  has the leverage to do so. They are running seemingly unopposed as Xbox has shifted its focus from consoles to ecosystem with their primary selling point being “Experience Gamepass anywhere”. Furthermore history has shown that consumers will buy whatever Playstation drops. Since the launch of this console generation, all of their recent accessories have been sold out at launch. Usually purchased from both interested customers and scalpers just looking to resell for absorbent amounts. If we do not want this trend to continue we must vote with our wallets.