PlayStation 5 Pro Arrives November 7, and the Price Tag is an Eye-Opener

Sony has lifted the lid on the long-rumoured PlayStation 5 Pro console, the 'mid-generation' refresh ala the PlayStation 4 Pro that beefs up the console's specs to deliver more impressive visual fidelity in games.

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

In addition to this the PS5 Pro offers more advanced ray tracing, with RT performance said to be an impressive 2-3X the speeds of the current PlayStation 5 console. Finally, PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution or PSSR is Sony's new NVIDIA DLSS-like feature where AI hardware will upscale and boost performance using custom "machine learning-based technology."

The PS5 Pro also has a new PS5 Pro Game Boost feature that can increase the resolution or boost performance in over 8500 PS4 and PS5 games without the need for patches. Games that are patched for the new console though will carry a 'PS5 Pro Enhanced' tag or sticker and will take full advantage of the new GPU and tech like PSSR.

For console gamers looking all about having the best visual fidelity possible the PS5 Pro sounds great, especially with games like Grand Theft Auto 6 on the horizon, which is not coming to PC on day one.

However, the price tag is causing quite the stir online. $699.99 USD or an eye-watering $1,199.95 AUD. Especially when the Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive and vertical stand are sold separately - bundling all three will push the price above $1400 AUD.

Another criticism stems from the fact that Sony announced the PS5 Pro without showcasing any new games taking advantage of the new hardware. Instead it showed the PS4 era The Last of Us Part II running at 60 FPS - which is nice, but not enough to sell the console as a day-one upgrade.