PS5 Pro has bigger problems than just price

This is the first in a series of regular guest columns from Push 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, engaged and part of the conversation around all things PlayStation.

The PS5 Pro, which launches on November 7 for a staggering $700, is already facing significant fan backlash, with a massive 89% of Push Square enthusiasts calling the mid-gen machine “too expensive” in a poll this week. Sony now faces the unenviable task of convincing its most committed consumers that the console is worth the investment. But with many feeling that the PS5 generation hasn’t truly begun, the PS5 Pro’s problems appear to go beyond its 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 re-release of a 2020 PS4 game, albeit an undoubtedly beautiful one. While it’s good to know the game will run at an unyielding 60fps in full 4K fidelity on Sony’s new supercharged system, few would argue that the game’s astronomical $700 price tag is justified by a beefed-up previous-gen title.

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

An extended cross-gen period where titles have released on both the PS5 and PS4 has left early adopters feeling shortchanged, who expected the PS5 to reach its full potential much sooner. Older consoles are typically abandoned within a year or two, but bloated development budgets and pandemic-induced inventory shortages have ensured that previous-gen systems are still fiercely relevant today. We’re rapidly approaching the PS5’s fourth birthday, and yet many big-name titles are still being developed with the decade-old PS4 in mind, including upcoming releases like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Metaphor: ReFantazio.

All of which leaves the PS5 Pro’s value proposition in a precarious position: how can its expensive existence be justified when games are still being built with last-gen machines in mind? Among the PlayStation-obsessed crowd at Push Square, just 9% of users say they’d be willing to buy the supercharged system at launch – a dramatic drop from the 24% who wanted the PS4 Pro at the time of its announcement.

While industry data suggests the PS4 Pro only accounted for around 13% of the PS4’s total install base, it was generally received with more optimism. The timing of the system’s release coincided with an uptick in 4K television adoption, making the promise of improvements to existing 1080p content more enticing. Furthermore, Sony had long since moved on from the PS3 by the time of the PS4 Pro’s reveal, with acclaimed exclusives like Bloodborne and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End already under its umbrella, and anticipated adventures like Horizon Zero Dawn on the, well, horizon.

All games so far improved for PS5 Pro