Sony PlayStation 5 Pro is now official at $700, launching November 7

[Daniel Sims]

Highly anticipated: With many PlayStation 5 games forcing players to choose between high image quality and high frame rates, Sony is positioning its mid-generation refresh as a way to offer the best of both worlds. However, the $700 price tag sets a new benchmark for mainstream game consoles, and the absence of a pre-installed optical drive may weaken the value proposition for many consumers.

Pre-orders for the PlayStation 5 Pro open on September 26, and the updated console will start shipping on November 7. Priced at $699, it includes a 2 TB SSD, but the disc drive is sold separately for $79.

Similar to the PlayStation 4 Pro, the PS5 Pro is designed to run the same games as the base model, but with higher frame rates, improved image quality, and enhanced visual detail. While Sony marketed the PS4 Pro as a console that capitalized on the then-new 4K televisions, the PS5 Pro's sales pitch is somewhat murkier.

During a brief demonstration, PlayStation architect Mark Cerny explained that, when given the option between 60fps gameplay and higher image quality, about three-quarters of players choose frame rate. The PS5 Pro was engineered to eliminate this trade-off by allowing games to maintain high frame rates without sacrificing image quality.

The PS5 Pro technical specifications closely align with details that were previously shared by trusted leakers. It boasts a 45 percent increase in graphics rendering power, thanks to 67 percent more compute units and 28 percent faster memory. Additionally, ray tracing is two to three times faster, presumably from features AMD is expected to debut in its upcoming RDNA 4 graphics cards.

Sony also introduced PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, the company's take on Nvidia DLSS, which uses AI and machine learning to upscale images from lower resolutions.

A preliminary list of games that will receive patches to take advantage of these enhancements includes but is not limited to the following:

• Alan Wake 2
• Assassin's Creed: Shadows
• Demon's Souls
• Dragon's Dogma 2
• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Gran Turismo 7
• Hogwarts Legacy
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Marvel's Spider-Man 2
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• The Crew Motorfest
• The First Descendant
• The Last of Us Part II Remastered

The company showcased brief clips of The Last of Us Part II with an improved balance between visuals and frame rate. Additionally, Sony confirmed that Hogwarts Legacy and Gran Turismo 7 will make greater use of ray tracing during gameplay.

Game Boost and Enhanced Image Quality settings will also improve the performance of all PS4 and PS5 games without requiring individual updates. With Game Boost enabled, games will reach their original frame rate limits more consistently. Meanwhile, Enhanced Image Quality will increase the resolution of PS4 games, though Sony has not provided specific details.

The new console also supports Wi-Fi 7 and 8K resolution. Notably, Sony removed the 8K sticker from the original PS5 packaging back in June.

Permalink to story:

Sony PlayStation 5 Pro is now official at $700, launching November 7

 

[ZackL04]

I have a feeling this will be a colossal flop

 

[Theinsanegamer]

It won't solve the fidelity performance issue. Just like the PS4 pro, you'll be stuck with slightly prettier graphics, if the devs bother to optimize at all, and sub 30 fps averages anyway.

Only way around that is to go to PC.

 

[DZillaXx]

Toss as much GPU power as you want, but if you really want to boost FPS more CPU power is key. Zen 2 was not really the best for gaming performance, Zen 3 was a massive improvement when it came to game performance, and the 3D Cache Zen chips made it even better.

Honestly see no reason why we couldn't have gotten something close to a 5700X3D. We will continue to see games struggle to keep 60fps, as that really was never a GPU issue. Only GPU we had was ray traced performance. And I have yet to turn ray tracing on to been blown away from the result.

I like to waste money, so I will no doubt still buy one. Along with a Disc drive and a 4TB SSD to go along with it.

 

[Vulcanproject]

The price is a problem (understatement) not least because there no disc drive, not even the vertical stand included. For what is supposed to be the ultimate model you're already onto a loser, missing significant features.

Presumably they are marketing this heavily at existing PS5 owners, ones who have spare cash and therefore probably bought the disc version of PS5 in the first place. You're looking at $780 total with the separate drive to feature match your older PS5 model.

There are crazy numbers for a game console not seen since stuff like the 3DO, the Saturn and of course notoriously: PS3.

One might wonder if Sony are sliding towards that kind of arrogance again if they believe they can make this sell at this price. If there's a time to beef up your gaming PC or invest in a new one then it's now.

 

[Alsotrue]

I do think it’s great they presented this in a couple of minutes. No lengthy program, just some numbers, demo’s, prices and done.

 

[gamerk2]

Hahaha, no, not at that price.

 

[godrilla]

I am looking for the DIY market head to head comparison this Black Friday in a similar price point. It will probably consist of 5700x3d, b550 and rdna 4 gpu.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

I am looking for the DIY market head to head comparison this Black Friday in a similar price point. It will probably consist of 5700x3d, b550 and rdna 4 gpu.

I always struggle to stay under a grand for a decent build, let alone $800, and that was before recent inflation. ((Unless you are reusing a case, PSU, and RAM.)

 

[n3o127]

Reflecting GPU and Motherboard prices -- Gaming sector is far less interesting to GPU and CPU companies these days -- Will we see game developers change from modern game engines and rays and all stuff that likes high-end CPU/GPU or push ahead and see just how much everyone will pay for hardware and software... going to be an interesting next year or two.

 

[godrilla]

I always struggle to stay under a grand for a decent build, let alone $800, and that was before recent inflation. ((Unless you are reusing a case, PSU, and RAM.)

It's true for reference Techpost's article from this week's PC building guide has the 2 PCs within the range of the PS5 pro.
These builds can be tweaked to am4 and cheaper cpu. ( Sony is using Zen2 here)
Even a 5600x would be superior cpu. The cost saving on the cpu can be applied to the gpu like the 7800xt selling for $469.99.
So before Black Friday the buid will be significantly more expensive. On Black Friday naturally last generation hardware is significantly cheaper.



ComponentProduct Price
ProcessorAMD Ryzen 5 8600G $180
MotherboardAsrock B650M Pro RS $135
Memory32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 $90
StorageSamsung 990 Evo 1TB $70
GraphicsIntegrated / Radeon RX 6600 $0 / $190
PSUThermaltake Smart 500W $40
CaseFractal Design Pop Mini Air $60
Monitor, Keyboard & Mouse (see notes)

Core System Total
$575


ComponentProduct Price
ProcessorAMD Ryzen 5 7600 $180
CPU CoolerBe Quiet! Pure Rock 2 Black $45
MotherboardAsrock B650 PG Lighting $150
Memory32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 $90
StorageSK Hynix P41 Platinum 2TB $140
GraphicsAMD Radeon RX 6750 XT $300
PSUCorsair CX650M $70
CaseFractal Design North $110
Monitor, Keyboard & Mouse (see notes)

Core System Total
$1,085

 

[ThomasTECH]

Sony is just like most of the tech world in 2024, doing better at what they were already doing well at is basically selling the same system to you all over again. Please Sony fix the networking issues with the online accounts, you really need to get organized. If they said one thing about better network performance I might have taken the bait. So many still play older games that have none of these features that work well and are made well. Right now my PS5 drops connection to PSN servers 4 out of 5 games, disconnects from PSN network while I am in training mode not even in a match. PSN networking is so bad I have contemplated assassinating my PS5 console. I'm on my 4th month of troubleshooting, already replaced all ISP equipment went direct to their equipment, reset my console to factory, redownloaded the game, restored licenses over and over. Seems to get worse as I go.

 

[WhiteLeaff]

People don't understand that PS5pro will sell a lot. It's like people crying about expensive GPUs (and they really are) on the day they're announced, but continuing to buy them afterwards lol

I'm curious to know details about the hardware.

 

[DanteSmith]

People don't understand that PS5pro will sell a lot. It's like people crying about expensive GPUs (and they really are) on the day they're announced, but continuing to buy them afterwards lol

I'm curious to know details about the hardware.

It will probably be heavily boosted by the release of the new GTA;

 

[Raskakoochy]

Hard pass. What a fkn scam all these companies, the console is not even 4 years old.

 

[NumberNine]

It's true for reference Techpost's article from this week's PC building guide has the 2 PCs within the range of the PS5 pro.
These builds can be tweaked to am4 and cheaper cpu. ( Sony is using Zen2 here)
Even a 5600x would be superior cpu. The cost saving on the cpu can be applied to the gpu like the 7800xt selling for $469.99.
So before Black Friday the buid will be significantly more expensive. On Black Friday naturally last generation hardware is significantly cheaper.



ComponentProduct Price
ProcessorAMD Ryzen 5 8600G $180
MotherboardAsrock B650M Pro RS $135
Memory32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 $90
StorageSamsung 990 Evo 1TB $70
GraphicsIntegrated / Radeon RX 6600 $0 / $190
PSUThermaltake Smart 500W $40
CaseFractal Design Pop Mini Air $60
Monitor, Keyboard & Mouse (see notes)

Core System Total
$575


ComponentProduct Price
ProcessorAMD Ryzen 5 7600 $180
CPU CoolerBe Quiet! Pure Rock 2 Black $45
MotherboardAsrock B650 PG Lighting $150
Memory32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 $90
StorageSK Hynix P41 Platinum 2TB $140
GraphicsAMD Radeon RX 6750 XT $300
PSUCorsair CX650M $70
CaseFractal Design North $110
Monitor, Keyboard & Mouse (see notes)

Core System Total
$1,085

This is the way.

 

[dangh]

I might buy it, but really I would much more like to get more great exclusives, like end of ps3 or mid ps4 era. Right now this is still a great machine and I really enjoy astro bot, but it is too little to make a quick switch.
I'm happy to see amd rt performance thought. I most probably get their GPU next year.

 

[Gastec]

"PlayStation architect Mark Cerny explained that, when given the option between 60fps gameplay and higher image quality, about three-quarters of players choose frame rate"
These people would have us playing at 60 fps for thirty more years without any qualms.
The new and shiny PlayStation doesn't have a blu-ray drive but it has AI Spectral Super Resolution and that is all a gamer would even want or need, rendering at 720p and making it look like it's 4K because, after all, the human eye can't even see more than 24 fps.

 

[kiwigraeme]

I think there are many like me that held off buying a PS.
So better graphics, now a sensible SSD drive, we have the PS4 with the bigger drive. Given game install sizes.
Price isn't $600 but still cheaper than silly phones etc.
As for drive, yeah shame. But think people don't want to store physical discs that are really not physical anymore, just a glorified key code. Think maybe a shame more for someone who wants to buy odd 4K bluray , or as a bluray player.

Anyway better fidelity and what I think should be minimum SSD space ie 2 TBs. I get one,as got 15 years of sub on PSN for pretty cheap ( ie subbed on discount for essential for those years and pay one off set fee to upgrade all the years ) .
Comes with a fun game, plus will be discounts. Ha many paid probably $1000 to scalpers for their stock PS5

 

[michalcz]

Here in Europe we will get it for €800 which is $880. That's too much especially if you live in a country where median salary is 1/3 of what you get in US. I dont think many people will buy it here.

 

[thelatestmodel]

People in here forgetting that there are enough whales out there to easily sell all of these and then some. I agree that it's too expensive - I won't be buying one - but there are so many people out there with more money than sense that this is guaranteed not to flop.

 

[godrilla]

It will probably be heavily boosted by the release of the new GTA;

I was thinking the same thing, although GTA 6 is rumored to come out in Fall 2025 without any delays.

 

[Starfals]

Yeah, 700 is alot of a console. Remember the 700 bucks PS3? People made fun of Sony back then too lol. Amazing how everyone is mad at Sony, but nobody is mad at $1600(atm 2100) RTX 4090, or 1300 4080... Or EVen 800 bucks 4070 (euro prices baby!) If we had the same vocal people on our side, im sure Nvidia wouldn't pull these insane prices.

 

[ZedRM]

This price is just too much for what's on offer, especially without a disc drive included. $500 seems fair Sony, $550 with the disc drive. Your move Sony.

 

[Scshadow]

This price is just too much for what's on offer, especially without a disc drive included. $500 seems fair Sony, $550 with the disc drive. Your move Sony.

So $50 increase from the non pro version? That doesn't even cover the cost of the 1TB to 2TB internal SSD upgrade. Lets try and be reasonable.

Honestly, if $700 had included the disk drive, I wouldn't have been offended by the PS5 Pro. Hardware costs to bump up the specs are out of Sony's control. The disc drive being removed is a scam though.