Sony launched its PlayStation 5 Pro console without much fanfare earlier this month, but the company’s latest console release has already faced criticism. This is because the PlayStation 5 Pro (PS5 Pro for short) hit the market at a price of $700 US dollars, quite a bit more expensive than its sibling the PS5 Slim, which is currently selling for less than $500 US dollars.
Of course, the PS5 Pro is a souped-up version of the base console. Not only does it boast a faster processor and more capable graphics chip, but the latter is able to deliver advanced ray tracing and has a new technology which Sony is calling PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution. This is basically the company’s answer to Nvidia’s DLSS – an upscaling technology based on AI which can deliver a sharper image at higher solutions in games.
This all comes at a price though – and some have criticized Sony for the machine’s high price point, especially taking into account that the console doesn’t come with a Blu-ray drive or a stand.
However, the Japanese company doesn’t think the PS5 Pro’s price is a problem. Actually, Sony president Hiroki Totoki said so himself, as was recently reported on gaming website Eurogamer.
“In terms of the pricing many people made different comments on that, but pricing on PS5 pro has not had a negative impact I don’t think”, said Sony’s boss. “Hardcore users are the target of this hardware”, added Totoki.
And for now, it seems that complaints about the PS5 Pro’s price are not hurting PlayStation sales. Sony recently revealed that PlayStation 5 sales had reached (and surpassed) 65 million units, another milestone for the console since it reached 50 million last December. These sales refer to Sony’s latest reported quarter (quarter two of the current financial year, that is), so they obviously don’t include any PS5 Pro’s sales, just those of the original PS5 and its “slim” variant. But given that the PS5 Pro’s is aimed at hardcore users, it’s unlikely to have a huge impact on total sales though.
Sony President, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki says the PS5 Pro pricing has not had a negative impact and that it is aimed at hardcore users #PS5Pro
“Hardcore users are the target of this hardware”
“In terms of the pricing many people made different comments on that, but pricing on… pic.twitter.com/jTs2UYtVez
— Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) November 8, 2024
Also, game sales stood at a whopping 131 million for the first half of Sony’s financial year. Some of the top sellers were Astro Bot (1,5 million copies) and Ghost of Tsushima, which got a PC version this year. Aside from those two (which are first party games), EA Sports FC 25 and Black Myth: Wukong, this summer’s blockbuster game, were also top selling games on the PS5.
Despite this, it remains to be seen whether the PS5 will beat the PS4 in terms of console sales – but it’s on track to do so, it seems. But surpassing the PS2’s 155 million units sold (the top-selling console of all time) does not seem feasible though.
This is because despite the PS5 reaching 65 million units sold in the quarter, unit sales were actually lower than in the same quarter last year, dropping from about 8 million to 6 million units sold. But maybe the newly-launched PS5 Pro can give sales a boost in the future, though, especially taking into account that top games like Ghost of Tsushima and Black Myth: Wukong will look even better when running on the new console. This is something that Sony will surely be looking forward to, as the current console generation passes the mid-point mark.
PS5 Pro console (Sony Interactive Entertainment)