Yesterday Sony pulled back the curtain on the long-rumoured PS5 Pro, an iterative update to its existing console which offers a spec-bump that, as Mark Cerny said in his presentation, looks to close the gap between performance and fidelity modes. Showcasing a modest but noticeable boost (at least when zooming in on the pixels as the presentation did) to several games in Sony's back catalogue — including Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (2023), Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (2021), and The Last of Us II Remastered (2024) — the price was then revealed: $699 / £699 / €799.
PS% Pro System Details:
- upgraded GPU
- better ray tracing
- some AI-upscaling
- 2TB SSD
- disc drive and stand are not included
Now, this product is clearly aimed at Sony's hardcore fanbase, but that's 700 bucks/quid — and a staggering €800 in Europe — for the Pro experience. Mileage will vary on whether you think slightly better-looking background crowds in the (impressive) 2021 Ratchet game is worth the investment, but even the hardest of core PlayStation users will have to swallow hard before shelling out. It feels like after years of living in fear of "$599 USD" meme mockery, Sony finally ripped off the band-aid and told console players to buck up for massive outlays in the years to come.
We'll discuss inflation in a moment, but the core issue here seems to be one of value proposition - how much of an upgrade the hardware represents. If Sony were presenting PS6, with a suite of new, dedicated software and features showcasing a generational leap, I don't believe the reaction would be the same.
That's not to say everyone would be happy to pay 700 notes for their next PlayStation, but it would be a different pitch. Indeed, if PS6 launches in a couple of years at $700 for the base model, it might even seem like decent value. Throw a disc drive, stand, and an extra DualSensePlus+ in your launch-day cart, and you won't be getting much change out of a grand for your next-gen system.
And let's take a moment to remember poor Japan, which was recently hit with a $90-ish price hike for the base PS5 model. The weak yen is a factor for Japanese companies, with players taking the brunt of currency fluctuations and some suggesting that they're done with PS5. Nintendo has so far resisted price changes for Switch, and this latest episode from Sony highlights how surgical Nintendo must be with its pricing, at home and abroad.
As NL readers noted in our poll, if Switch 2 comes along with meaningful upgrades and really feels like a next-generation Switch, a higher price tag will be easier to stomach. The core issue with PS5 Pro is the huge disparity between the improvements the new hardware offers and the $250 premium Sony wants for it.
I get it, it's never been more expensive to develop and manufacture these things, and gaming has, in fact, been incredibly inflation-resistant from a consumer standpoint. It still represents the best value form of entertainment in my book, but with Switch 2 in particular, Nintendo has to come out with guns blazing and make a really compelling case for what's rumoured to be a Switch, but more powerful.
Certainly, nobody's expecting PS5-level specs from Switch 2, but the small form factor of portable hardware increases component costs. Delivering even PS4 Pro-level performance in a Switch-sized tablet form for a reasonable price is going to be a mighty challenge. Bespoke new Nintendo games will certainly make for a better pitch than slightly better-looking versions of already-great-looking games you've been playing for a year or two or three. But whispers that the screen in the new console may be a standard LCD affair and not an OLED display will give some people (like me) pause. 'So, the screen tech isn't as good as the one I've been playing since 2021? Hmm.'
After seven-and-a-half years of Switch, the enthusiasts among us are eager for new hardware, but Nintendo has always looked to appeal beyond that core fanship. If PS5 Pro's pricing tells us anything, it's that the vast majority of players will still baulk at anything over $500, whatever the inflation charts say. Cost-of-living issues have squeezed personal finances from every which way and something's got to give; necessarily, entertainment expenditure is the first to take a hit. It doesn't matter that PS3 cost the equivalent of $780 18 years ago - for most of us, $700 is still an enormous sum to contemplate spending on a machine to play video games.
What Nintendo has in store remains to be seen, and with rumors flying thick and fast about a potential hardware reveal this month (which wouldn't make much sense from a Switch holiday sales perspective, but hey, it's Nintendo), the overwhelmingly negative reaction to Sony's hardware pricing announcements shows that Switch 2's pricing is going to be a very delicate, very difficult needle to thread.
