Is the PS5 Pro Not for You? Former Blizzard President Reveals Who He Thinks Is the Target Audience for Sony’s Latest Abomination Priced at $700

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Is the PS5 Pro Not for You? Former Blizzard President Reveals Who He Thinks Is the Target Audience for Sony’s Latest Abomination Priced at $700

After a lot of anticipation and hype, PS5 Pro is finally here. Pro versions have always been a subject of speculation regarding their capabilities, extra features, upgrades when the PS5 launched, and most importantly, prices, as compared to their base variants. 

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Sony has finally launched the PS5 Pro. | Credit: Sony.

Almost four years later, the Pro version of one of the most popular consoles of all time, PS5, is here. However, right after its reveal, things went upside down. Backlashes and criticisms are spreading heavily, and the major reason for that is its price. However, the former Blizzard President thinks PlayStation 5 Pro is not for everyone.

Former Blizzard President Picks His Potential Buyers for PS5 Pro

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Mike Ybarra thinks PS5 Pro is not for everyone. | Credit: Los Angeles Times.

During PlayStation’s PS5 Pro Technical Presentation on September 10, 2024, the latest and most advanced console from Sony was finally unveiled. This highly anticipated console is going to be available from November 7, whereas pre-orders will begin in September.

Everything was going pretty well until it was revealed that the price of this upcoming console was going to be a whopping $699.99, which is almost $250 more than the base edition of PS5, which is priced at $499.9. You can get the digital edition of the PS5 as well just at $399.99, which is almost half of the Pro version.

However, the ex-President of Blizzard, Mike Ybarra, explains the reason for this pricing and spoke about the potential customers of this premium console. He stated any in-generation upgrade is about existing users upgrading. That means the Pro version of PS5 is essentially for the users who already own a PS5.

Think of this a bit differently. Pro models, or any in-generation upgrade, is about existing users upgrading. So when teams evaluate the cost – they don’t want to lose money on each console as that puts pressure on other parts of the business. And they think about how they can…

— Mike Ybarra (@Qwik)

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After the release of the Pro version, existing PS5 users can trade-in their base variant at places like GameShop, which in turn can avail themselves of a new Pro model for an upgrade cost of $350 or so (if they are getting $350 for their older console). Ybarra also stated that this is the fundamental model of the companies, and it won’t fit for everyone. However, it’s all part of the larger go-to-market plan.

PS5 Pro vs PS5 – What’s New?

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Are the upgrades worth the extra $350? | Credit: Sony.

The PS5 Pro might come with a huge price point, but there are some upgrades for sure. But people have to choose if these updates are worth the extra money they are paying, even for the already-using PS5 owners.

Talking about the first upgrade, the Pro version is coming up with a new look, which is more stripers running across the mid-section. However, the sad part is that there will be no disc drive in the upcoming console, and even sadder is that you have to buy it separately. 

Now the biggest upgrade has to be the GPU. The pro variant is now 67% faster than the base variant as far as the GPU is concerned. Sony has also increased the memory by 28%. As a combined result, games will now run 45% faster than PS5, with more details and improved frame rates in the games.

Not only that, in Pro models, ray tracing will be cast at double or triple the speed than on the normal PS5. Last but not least, PS5 Pro will debut Sony’s PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution technology, which will be used for AI upscaling and can be adjudged as a competitor to Nvidia’s DLSS or AMD’s FSR.

What’s your opinion on Ybarra’s comment and the upcoming console? Share your views with us in the comment section.

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