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Fans Appear to Be Coming Around to PS5 Pro

Warming up

by · Push Square

The reaction to the PS5 Pro’s announcement bordered on apocalyptic. While system architect Mark Cerny did a decent job of introducing the device, the $700/£700 price point triggered an obscene backlash. At the time, just 9.7% of you said you would pre-order the console in a Push Square poll. That’s a dire result for a website filled with enthusiasts.

Since then, opinion does appear to have softened, however. Make no mistake, there’s still a vocal contingent who don’t believe there’s a point to the platform, but in the aftermath of pre-orders going live, 39% say they have plumped up for the platform. That’s quite a dramatic swing when compared to the initial reaction.

It’s worth noting that the majority (44.4%) still don’t plan on purchasing the upgrade, but even those holding out until a later date have increased. In our announcement aftermath poll, just 6.6% said they’d consider picking up a PS5 Pro beyond launch – whereas 15.7% now say they’re either saving or waiting to get the system down the line.

So, what’s changed? Well, we’ve started to see real-world analysis of the console from experts like Digital Foundry, who’ve described the device as a “good investment”. Some of the improvements to games like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth have proven dramatic, and more and more software is being confirmed to support the device.

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Poll Did You Pre-Order a PS5 Pro?

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The PS5 Pro is still undeniably expensive, and many still don’t feel like it’s doing enough to justify its price. But the sentiment is slowly softening, and people are gradually coming around to the idea. Do we think it’s going to set the world alight at $700/£700? No, it’s simply too expensive – but that initial wave of negativity does appear to have died down for now.

[source News: Poll: Are You Sold on PS5 Pro?, via News: Poll: Did You Pre-Order a PS5 Pro?]

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About Sammy Barker

As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.

Comments 88

FOMO usually wins out in the end.

I think the recent DF video helped establish the value of the machine, even though it does seem pricey in console-specific terms. I haven’t pre-ordered one myself… but I’m starting to feel the FOMO for sure. I might well jump on board by Christmas.

Yeah fans that were acting tough like they could fight fomo but caved in eventually. 😆

I wouldn't say I'm coming round to it, I still think it's far too expensive.

However I have just accepted that it's simply not for me and I'm probably not part of the targeted audience.

To those that have ordered one, I wish you all the best with it

At this price and the missing parts, it is not worth it.

But if people have money to burn it is their decision

Also, a reminder that my negativity will not die down

I'm shocked.

You know how many Youtubers and so called journalists pre ordered a PS5 Pro after crapping on it non stop for the last 3 weeks?

Look up Dreamcastguy and Destin, lol.

Because nowadays everything is a dumb knee jerk reaction. And sites like this thrive on it so they feed it to their readers. Clicks, all for the clicks.
I said it before somewhere, we who visit sites are the minority by far.

Me personally will wait for ps6. I’m happy with my standard ps5

Yeah, no.

Saving up for a UW monitor for my PC and the Switch 2.

I’m going to pass and continue deluding myself that this isn’t a precedent for console pricing going forward. I’m sure it’s cool for tech enthusiasts, but I can’t justify dropping a month’s rent on a PlayStation.

So we reached a point where console upgrades are more frequent and more expensive than pc's

Fans have never had a problem with the Pro existing. The majority of complaints come from people who aren't fans and aren't going to buy the Pro, and people who never will anyway. And they are the ones who leave the most comments on social media, the complainers.

I'm glad the negativity has dropped off. The tidal wave of misery lately is really exhausting. Though a lot of outlets cultivate it from readers because it generates more interaction.

I really wanted to want one, but even though it's supposedly good value, and I do see the improvements in what I've seen, it's just not enough to justify the cost in my opinion.

Anyway, I sincerely hope purchasers are happy with it and everyone who wants one, gets one.

@Zuljaras Even Apple has better value at this point, this is macbook pricing whitout the mac build quality and performance.

Actually, all those memes and jokes are helping selling the PS5 Pro.

The people complaining the loudest were never going to buy it anyway.

I don't think anything changed. People always say stuff they don't really mean. Just look at call of duty

Sticker shock is still an issue but I think the reveal was problematic.

It was nine or so minutes long, but several minutes of that was talking about the base machine. A minute or two for a quick showreel. Then you have the branding stuff and then you have 3 minutes or so of real content.

But the comparison shots weren't done very well (zoom in but show a big image not a thumbnail) and ultimately there was no reason to get Cerny to do this video.

People complain that Sony shadow drop reveals on the PS Blog but this really should have been a shadow drop on the ps blog based on the reveal video. It needed more effort. Don't just tell us what it allows, give details of specifics in specific games. get some first and third party developers to talk about what they can do now. Make a proper presentation, make it an hour if you need to.

The one good thing about the reveal is that Sony released that 65gb pro res for people to actually look at the footage and discuss. The second good thing they did was a proper press junket with the actual developers and side by side comparisons running on both machines. Square putting out a VII rebirth Prores certainly helped with that game.

Ultimately a lot of the backlash was from people who don't need the machine and don't have any understanding of what it is supposed to be, they just looked at the price and went crazy like people do on the internet these days.

The change in tone from some areas is as much what we have learnt since as much as it is cooler heads prevailing (see:Horizon)

Ultimately the people who don't need it or are upset by the price will just ignore it now they've had their piece, and the people who want it but are bothered by the price will make up their own mind as they go along. There are also a subset of people who know enough about graphics cards to know that this isn't the worst deal ever even if we aren't used to console pricing like this (I think a lot of people overlooked the 2tb ssd as well). Note: I'm not saying the price is a good deal.

Someone at worked asked me what the difference was with the pro, I simply told him that if he needs to ask, he doesn't need it. He was happy with that answer and I think most people will be.

I still think we need to see the games when their patches have been released. Some developers will give more attention to their patches or modes on new games then others and the only correct way to decide if its worth the money is when games are released and we can see how well they run outside of controlled marketing videos or limited hands on time. Remember, Pro modes are required for certification but that doesn't mean developers will make the effort to make them good.

not that i hate PS5 Pro or anything.
i like the design and all.

i just dont have the money.

and was never fan of PC Gaming.

Sony and Nintendo (Sega Megadrive too). always been my childhood family for gaming till i die..

so i want to own PS5 Pro if i can get it later on.

I think the investment in this for the 3-4 years before it is replaced by the PS6 don't really justify the outlay for me. The second hand market for these will be weak unless the cost of the PS6 is ridiculous and not backwards compatible.

@Zuljaras Best comment. People are so used to getting voluntarily ripped off nowadays. Oh well, it's their money to burn.

It's still a collosally low percentage when you factor in the people reading articles on here and voting in these polls are the most enthusiastic customers Sony have, you'd expect it to be higher.

Pro versions are always for a niche audience though and this will be no different. most people won't have a clue what the differences are between the two if you stuck them side by side even if you tell them and will stick with the base console throughout, I'm one of them, had a base ps4 all the way through and intend on doing the same this gen, especially as I only got my ps5 this year but sony obviously forecast enough interest in it to be worthwhile to do it so what's there to complain about?

Those that want minimal improvements for the extra cost will get it and the rest of us will stay as we are and everybody is happy.

@KillerBoy wait what how can you be happy with the base PS5 with all those games out there that use its full power and show you need better hardware?!

@TimeDelayedGamer true, but personally for me I'm not missing out on much tho (again I already own a ps5) I don't see the need for me to splash on the pro variant

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the success of a product relies heavily on how it's being perceived. I bought a ps portal after having no intention to (I'm having blast, btw). I'm considering a PS5pro mainly for VR games. We're influenced by others more than most of us care to admit.

@Al3 q
I will your argument out. Consoles are not more expensive.

I just looked up a graphics card which PC gamers treat like 'their' console:

GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4090 AORUS WaterForce Xtreme - 24GB GDDR6X RAM

The cost? 2600 USD. You need a lot more components to finish that console - maybe another 1000 USD.

Anyways, the funny thing is that I have no real idea if the upgrade would be noticeable on my TV.

It is a TCL 55' 780 QLED with only 60 Hz and no VRR. That is my biggest question along with how long for PS6? Unless I get help figuring out these things, I will just be perfectly happy with the PS5.

I have entered a competition to buy the PS5 Pro 30th Ann. Edition, though. But that is because that thing is going to be incredibly valuable if they never make more.

I knew this would happen! It was the same with Concord. Everyone hated it when it was announced, but when it was released everyone changed their tune and loved it!

The only 5 pro I wanted was the 30th Anniversary edition because I pre ordered the original PlayStation back in 1994. But those were rare to preorder in Canada. And probably snatched up by the scalpers. But I'm happy to keep using the PS5.

When I see stuff like this, I'm always reminded of the towel experiment that Robert Chialdini and Noah Goldstein did. Back in the mid-2000s (before COVID and hotels cleaning your rooms less and less often) they teamed up with an undisclosed national hotel chain to see if they could alter the towel reusage rate of guests.

They tried 2 different methods. The first one was to write an environmental message with the towels. Like reusing the towels conserves water and energy and is an environmentally conscious choice.

The second was to write a social norms message saying that the majority of guests that stay in our hotels, reuse their towels.

They found that the environmental message led to about 35% towel reusage among guests. The social norms message led to about 45% towel reusage, meaning that people were more likely to follow a behavior that they believe others are doing aka social proof.

Similar experiment was done by the Opower company which works with multiple utility companies to give customers feedback on energy usage. When they informed customers that they were using more energy than their neighbors, the customers were more likely to decrease their energy consumption. The result was even bigger when they used things like emojis (smiley face, neutral, sad, etc.)

I've noticed this rampant in the gaming community. But it's our human nature in general. People just jump on bandwagons. They hate on something just because others are hating on it without experiencing it first hand. (Concord for example). Then they love something because others are loving it, they want social proof. It's just human nature. That's why we're so easily swayed to one side or the other.

So if I'm reading this correctly, 44% of people who answered a poll on a PLAYSTATION FANSITE do not plan to buy it?

That is a colossal number. That is like 44% of people on a Manchester United fansite planning not to buy a ticket. Something has gone seriously wrong somewhere.

Hardcore Sony fans were going to buy this no matter what,the general public still doesn’t like it

@Bentleyma 😂

It is indeed very expensive. I preordered one, but am on the fence whether I’ll ultimately keep that order. The prospect of spending another $80+tax on the disc drive to play my huge library of physical games, and worse yet, $30+tax just to stand the damn thing upright, is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. So yeah, a bit torn still…
I owned a PS4 Pro a while back though and was pretty happy with it. More announced games will help. Hoping to hear names like Returnal, Dead Space, Armored Core, Resident Evil, and Silent Hill 2 announced soon. Horror games will really benefit from that boost in ray tracing while maintaining a solid framerate. That’ll definitely win me over!

@ear_wig

RE8 and 4 Remake are confirmed to have Pro patches.

@TheTony316 Nice! Hoping for 2 and 3 remakes to get em too. I’m sure they will. The ray tracing on those games looks beautiful but really drags down the frame rate.

@LifeGirl a website that represents well under 5% of the PlayStation userbase. It’s not representative of anything in the real world. No polls on this or any other site are.

However this isn’t meant to be a mainstream machine or even aimed at all hardcore fans, even 4 Pro wasn’t.

Sony would be happy with 10% of lifetime ps5 sales being the Pro but realistically they will not expect it. If Sony sold 44 out of every 100 Ps5’s as Pro models they would be flabbergasted.

If I had the money for a pro (which I don’t) I’d rather buy a new TV. Mine is over 10 years old and the screen is blotchy 😮‍💨

It’s a ScalperBox, it’s going to sell like crazy. As for actual things to play though…

That Anime character in the picture is adorable.

@TimeDelayedGamer Absolutely this. Saw all the news articles about it and how they're selling like hot cakes and I succumbed like a wet sock

People making sure we'll have to pay €1000 for the PS6, without a disc drive, stand, cables and controller.

The latest DF hands on test is an interesting read: “[…] if you're already enjoying games in their 30fps quality modes, then the difference is less obvious. Image quality is already pretty good on the base consoles, especially at a normal viewing distance from a 4K screen, and you're not going to see a huge visual disparity in these sorts of modes unless the developers can really layer on the RT effects. Similarly, if the games that you play in performance modes look fine to you - perhaps they're running at 1440p 60fps - then again, you may not get much of an advantage from PS5 Pro.” It also notes there is a sizeable number of games that run better on pro, but are not tranformatively better given the CPU limitations. Personally, I’m still happy to wait for PS6 and enjoy a bigger generational leap.

£800 for a Pro with a disc drive, which is $1,070

I don't think many people are coming around

@TheTony316 They do all the negative for clicks and views and then go out and buy one DreamcastGuy is annoying as

So on current trajectory it’ll beat the equivalent PS4-PS4 Pro last gen of 80/20 share

The sticker shock was significant and at the level of fidelity we are talking about the compression of the image online is going to make a nonsense of trying to show what it does. Supposedly there is an 8gb download of the Mark Cerny thing that gives you a much better idea of what to expect.

I also think this is part of a bigger industry reset. The PS4 and more so Xbox One were so behind the curve in terms of performance.

In 3 steps we have basically caught up in the console space but it comes at a cost and I think that might be something we all have to adjust to.

Some folks just can't help themselves. I'm still firmly in the not interested camp. But at the end of the day we choose what is worth it and what is not for ourselves. $700 for a few extra hair strands on Tifa's head is borderline insane to me but if someone really wants it and can afford it? Go for it.

I'll save my my $700 for a PS6. With the way things are looking I'm going to need it.

@Al3 fully agree for pc's you only get a "vastely" more poweful graphics card and cpu every year, new cpu sockets and ram types every couple of yours. A PC You only buy once and then You can enjoy it for the next ... 3 years without having to fear that it is not powerful enough to run the newest stuff. The 4 year upgrade cycle of consoles is indeed insane ... in particular since it is optional.

I can soften the cost by $330.00 by trading in my PS5. When PS6 comes out I will repeat the cycle to save by trading in the PS5 pro in 4 years. Backwards compatibility allows one the to play all the games they own after trading in the PS5 console. The PS5 PRO will cost me $470 with disc drive and stand. That's not that bad of a deal for 4 years on a updated console..

$700 for a machine without a Blu-ray drive is stupid.

I’ll live with my peasant class PS5.

I won't be getting one day one, but I'll probably end up getting one next year. It is a bit pricey, but for a pc that runs all the games at the same quality you would be looking at over a grand. And you would probably still need to upgrade again before the PS6 comes out

@TrickyDicky99 20% of that £ price is Vat, the US price is before local state sales taxes

@Foxhound or people can afford it without it having any material effect on their finances and are enthusiastic enough about the product to want to put that money down.

@Korgon in principle a platform holder has an interest to have a more or less speedy generational shift at least at the beginning to make the platform interesting enough for developers and revenue from game sales on the new platform relevant. The optional intermediate upgrade on the other hand is not very important to grow the platform. In that sense the ps6 has to be more priced in line with what the general consumer is willing to spend, and a pro model has to be in line with concurrent products (in this case PC).

Though it is possible if inflation is not improving that it will be simply impossible to offer in 2028 a console, which looks like an upgrade over the ps5pro, but is cheaper.

@MKD88 really interesting! Thanks for sharing.

The amount of people losing their sh*t at others buying a Pro is hilarious 😂

Every time I've brought it up in conversation there's always someone that starts literally shouting about it and goes on a rant. It's always the less technically-minded people too - y'know, the ones that were never the intended audience.

@gaston
Yeah inflation is really the thing I'm most worried about. After all this is the first generation that has had console prices only go higher, not lower. It doesn't look good but hopefully I'm wrong.

$700 for a general consumer focused product is hard to imagine.

If people are disappointed with the graphical upgrade / price for Pro, they may well be far more disappointed with PS6's graphical upgrade and/or price - well, unless we are looking at 2029

checking smyths its 800e for the console and 120e for the disk tray attachement. thats almost 1k. and if i had that kind of money to burn I would just buy a 4080super and finish my pc build.

I knew the ps5 pro was going to sell well ever since people started losing their marbles of a plastic grey case and controller design for the ps1 30th anniversary edition. brainwashing at its finest.

same people here complaining about lack of new games and too much remasters and remakes ended up being excited for horizon zero dawn getting a new paint job.

and you wonder why sony are they way they are this generation. XD

Sony should make a little check to Digital Foundry, because they are the ones who sold me the machine. Not the Mark Cerny show.

@TheTony316 They get their YT clicks from the 'WTF SONY?' vid, then another load from 'Why I Changed My Mind About The PS5 Pro' 🙄

Waiting on the PS6 Pro.....🙃

I just hope the PS6 isn't this expensive.

Still gonna have to pass on it.

I'm still not sold on the regular PS5, so I can't imagine buying the Pro. Still happy with my OG PS4 and nothing this gen feels like I'm missing out.

I think both xbox and playstation wish they had set higher prices at the 2020 launch, they were completely sold out for a couple years and it would have meant more profit and slightly lower demand.

I think this is a bit of a test on their part and I personally don't think the PS5 Pro will sell well until they drop the price probably next year or the year after.

But I think they believe they might as well do what they did with the PSVR2, start high and drop when they see a big sales decline

I suppose once it comes out, every review that mentions Pro enhancements is gonna bring these negative individuals out of the woodwork again. Get ready for 'can't see any difference', 'waiting for PS6', 'will play on my super mega powerful PC build with a £1000+ graphics card' etc...

You'd think we'd stolen the money off them personally to buy the Pro's. Talk about a console they're apparently not interested in living rent-free.

I look forward to chuckling at many more of their comments over the coming weeks and months. Although not as much as I look forward to my Pro. 😀👍

@Frmknst I’m not really bothered about seeing a few more pixels 😂

Eh. It was mostly folks who are not the target audience of the PS5 Pro being loud and complaining and physical media fans in existential crisis mode. Those of us who are the target audience and are logical enough to understand the price makes sense will either buy the PS5 Pro if they want or they won't. It is simply another option on the market for those that want their games to play better and there's nothing wrong with that.

Realistically, if I was living in my parents house and gaming as my only pastime and had little financial worry, I’d have a big, fancy TV and definitely would’ve preordered the PS5 Pro.

But as it is, that I’m in my 30s with a family, mortgage, two cars, etc, I have other things to accumulate debt for. At this point, I regret buying an Xbox this generation because it just sort of collects dust. Not throwing shade on Xbox because I did like the brand in the past, but I haven’t used mine in almost a year now. Gaming is getting to be a more and more expensive hobby with continued inflation, so I’m grateful for what I have because I’d struggle to buy a base PS5 right now.

When future games (MHW, GTA6) start running badly on base PS5, the PRO will be a godsend.

Not me. Sony still hasn't justified my base PS5. If pandemic GPU prices weren't so outrageous I probably would have just upgraded that instead.

Nah the whole internet was laughing with memes, remember?

With today prices £700 for a console is not a big deal. My GPU costed 2x more and it was almost two years ago.

I wonder how many people here who said they're ditching Sony altogether and switching to Nintendo (because they actually care about their users... 🤭) followed through.

They’re still available to pre-order, right? Not exactly flying off the shelves. PS5 pre-orders closed within a few hours due to demand. There’s a lot of people that were happy to upgrade to the PS4 pro from the base machine that aren’t doing so for PS5 pro, and an awful lot more that haven’t yet transitioned to PS5 that won’t be doing so with pro.

This isn’t going to sell a lot of units and certainly won’t surpass the PS4 pro’s mediocre sales numbers. If Xbox have taught us anything, it’s that consoles with lower install bases aren’t supported as well as those with the highest. PS4 pro wasn’t particularly well supported outside of first party, I don’t expect PS5 pro to be any different.

Curiously did pushsquare exist at the time of PS4 pro’s launch, and if so did they run a similar poll regarding buying intent? The results, I’m sure, would be far more positive than those for PS5 pro.

I think hands on has helped with reviewer's telling how it is on youtube/the web.

It really was a mistake for these people to cave into FOMO because now Sony know that people will pay this price and we know that the PS6 will be £700 or possibly higher as seems to be the case with each new generation and probably with no disk drive

And now that Microsoft are not really focused on console wars this means Sony has a monopoly on the console market which means everything will get more expensive with them being unchecked

To be honest I've not even been able to justify my base PS5 purchase, only played about 4 exclusives on it and non of them really pushed the console to its limits

It was probably a combination of the anniversary edition and the Digital Foundry review that changed some people's opinions. I still think it's too much though for what you get. I wouldn't be the target audience for this however and hope those that did purchase one get plenty of enjoyment from it.

@simondud1 what's the point of living your life now based on something that might happen in 4 years time?

I certainly don't give a f*** about 2028 gaming here in 2024. I do, however, care about having the best console experience for the years until then.

And when the PS6 comes out I'll buy that too.

You do you.

It's sad that the base ps5 can't expand It's fanbase very fast so they need the pro models for the same people to double dip and make more money.

The poll seems about right, being a Playstation fan website I can see polls being a bit lower for buying one with the avg. Crowd.
I won't be buying one. Ps5 is suiting my needs. I think I'm good until mid ps6 cycle as long as games keep coming for base ps5.

@Pranwell well I don't see the point of wasting money on a console that will only be used for a bunch of remasters and maybe one or two first party titles, I also don't agree with Sony's pricing and I know if this console sells well the next console will have a price increase, I have played all the games they are remastering so that isn't worth me buying the PS5 Pro for, the only upcoming game from Sony I care about is the Wolverine game

I wouldn't say fans are coming around. I'm certainly not. Everyone knew people were going to buy the thing. And the critics probably don't feel passionate enough to constantly lambast the thing.

Is there really some people thinking this will not set a precedent for next generation?
It absolutely will even if it ain’t successful, there’s no way a PS6 comes out costing less than a PS5 Pro and given that they didn’t even bother to include the disc drive in the 30th anniversary bundle it’s now a given that PS6 won’t have a disc drive either.

In my country the normal Pro ended up costing more than the equivalent to $1000 USD, there’s just no f**king way I spend that much on a console that still requires a subscription to play online, that doesn’t sell digital games outside of their own store, that keeps raising prices without justification, I’d rather skip it and save up for a PC next generation.

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