Will The PS5 Pro Be Worth It? 10 Things To Consider

Will The PS5 Pro Be Worth It? 10 Things To Consider

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re discussing 10 things to consider before buying Sony’s newly announced PS5 Pro.

Price Tag

The Pro console costs $200 more than the regular version, increasing to $310 with all the attachments. When the PS4 Pro was announced, the PS4 received a massive price decrease. This was in a significantly different economic climate, and electronics manufacturing doesn’t quite decline with time as it did in the 2010s. A lot of people are understandably upset at this price hike, however, the total value of the hardware upgrades comes out to around $200. So, Sony is selling you $200 worth of better hardware, for roughly $200. While it is unfortunate the PS5 has not received a price decrease, it’s still one of the best gaming consoles ever made, and the base console is still a well-valued machine.

No Disc Drive and Stand

The most shameless feature of the PS5 Pro is its complete lack of both a disc drive and a stand. The original PS5 included both of these things, and cost $200 less at release. If you want to put discs into the Pro model, you will have to spend an additional $79.99, and if you want it to stand up comfortably, Sony expects you to pay an additional $29.99. So the price of a PS5 Pro, disc drive, and stand, is over $800, more than $300 more than the PS5 itself. For that price, you could not only buy a PS5, but could also probably acquire the entire catalog of games exclusive to the machine.

No Trade Ins

Sony allowed customers to trade in their PS4s for a voucher worth up to $150, which could be put towards a brand-new PS5. This cut the price of the console down significantly, and provided more incentive to make the switch. Unfortunately, Sony offers no similar deal for the PS5 Pro. Of course, third-party retailers can still give you money for your old console, but to a lot of people, this can be more complicated than just trading it to Sony directly. It also shows an unwillingness to give any sort of a discount on PS5 Pro purchases, and makes a lot of people think this new console is just a cash grab.

Developers Need To Update Games

Unfortunately games need extra work from developers to fully utilize the PS5 Pro’s new hardware. This means, at release, there’s a chance your favorite games won’t even run better on the Pro console. Sony has declared that roughly 40 to 50 games will be ready on release, including popular titles such as Alan Wake 2, Spider-Man 2, and both entries in the Last Of Us series. Not all games are on this list though, with plenty of popular titles not receiving the pro upgrade. Hopefully, as time goes on, most games will be able to take full advantage of the PS5 Pro’s hardware, but it makes developers' jobs a lot harder, as they now have to develop two versions just for one console.

PS4 Games Enhancements

One new feature is the PS5 Pro Game Boost, which Sony claims works for more than 8,500 backwards compatible PS4 games, which can be played on the new console. This will significantly enhance the performance and visual fidelity of past-gen titles, including popular titles such as Bloodborne, which has never received a framerate boost. This sounds good at first, but the PS5 already promised this exact same thing 4 years ago, and it feels like Sony is just trying to sell this feature for a second time. Some people bought the base PS5 for this exact reason, and are now confused why they bought the console in the first place. Additionally, Microsoft has been enhancing old games on the Xbox for years already.

WiFi 7

One exciting upgrade is that the new Pro console is capable of supporting WiFi 7. Of course, a router capable of WiFi 7 is needed, but if so you will have the fastest internet connection possible on a console. Since it’s a digital-only console, all your games will probably be downloaded, so this feels like a necessary addition. For those out of the loop, WiFi 7 is up to 4.8 times faster than WiFi 6, so it will provide much more reliable speed and connectivity. An ethernet port still exists, however, and will always provide more speed than a wireless connection.

Few Games

One of the things putting a lot of people off the PS5, is its distinct lack of exclusive games. The selection of games truly exclusive to this console is pitiful, with the majority of the most popular titles being available on other systems, such as the PS4. Not only this, but Sony has also recently been releasing a lot of their previously exclusive games for PC, giving you even less incentive to buy a console this generation. This was a major criticism of the machine back at release, and after 4 years it’s still just as valid, making a lot of gamers feel like they might as well just stick to their PS4, or even just convert to PC gaming.

Performance Improvements

The Pro version includes the same SSD and CPU, however, the GPU is massively upgraded, with 67% more compute units and 28% more VRAM, making it approximately 45% faster than the PS5 overall. Before, the PS5’s graphics card was equivalent to a 5-year-old RX 5700 XT, but the Pro version is equivalent to a current generation RX 7700 XT. So, for those gamers who are particularly interested in graphics, improvement is majorly exciting. Not everyone feels the same way, and a lot of gamers believe improved graphics just aren’t enough to sell a console anymore.

Ray Tracing Improvements

Ray tracing is one of the most exciting game enhancements currently developing. For those unaware, it’s a method that games can use to simulate real-life lighting. It’s been used in movies for decades, with films like Cars making use of it. In the 2020s, it’s finally become possible to add it to video games, and the technology has advanced leagues in the past 4 years. As such, the old PS5’s RDNA 2.0 ray tracing methods are majorly outdated, so the PS5 Pro will feature RDNA 4.0, one of the most advanced ray tracing architectures on the market. With this feature, the PS5 Pro will be the only console able to compete with the ray tracing possible on a PC.

PSSR

Probably the most exciting feature is the addition of PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, or PSSR. This is comparable to Nvidia’s DLSS and AMD’s FSR. It’s an AI upscaling technology, that allows you to play games in resolutions below your native one, and then upscale it to higher resolutions. The result is significantly improved performance, for a minor lack in visual fidelity. This makes gaming in 4k resolution even more reachable, and also makes 8k gaming even more possible, if you just so happen to possess superhuman eyesight and can tell the difference between 4k and 8k. It’s the only console developed to have such technology, making it the most exciting selling point for this machine.

Has Sony convinced you to upgrade to the PS5 Pro, or do you think you’ll be avoiding this release entirely? Let us know in the comment’s section below!