Can the PS5 Pro be successful even with a high $700 price tag? We spoke to several video game industry analysts, and their answer may surprise you.
The PlayStation 5 Pro is $700, and that price point is already divisive. It is a high-end console cheaper than most comparable gaming PCs, but it’s still the most expensive console from one of the video game industry’s big three manufacturers. It’ll likely find its audience in tech enthusiasts who crave power, but more casual gamers may find that they have no need to upgrade.
Even if it finds a niche, questions remain about its fate as it prepares for a November 7 launch. Is the PS5 Pro too expensive at $700? Will it turn the sluggish game industry around in a more positive direction? To make sense of the controversial move, I spoke to analysts from around the game industry about the PS5 Pro’s chances of success. They all responded with conservative and level-headed takes on the high price point.
The analysts I spoke to believe PS5 Pro will be a modest success but won’t reignite console sales industrywide or become the premiere PlayStation console for general audiences. As Mat Piscatella, executive director of video games at Circana, tells Digital Trends, the PS5 Pro “does give the enthusiast audience a reason to buy and stay engaged, and if the PS5 Pro can do that, it will have succeeded.”Is $700 too much for the PS5 Pro?
There’s a lot of negativity about the $700 pricing online already, which continues a recent trend for Sony. Last year, PlayStation VR2 launched at $550 (to many fans’ dismay) and was a sales disappointment. That initially had me skeptical about the PS5 Pro’s $700 MSRP, which is $150 more expensive than that VR headset. The analysts I spoke to thought there was not much of a comparison to make because the PlayStation VR2 lacks strong games and first-party support, which PS5 Pro will have. More crucially, they didn’t seem concerned about PS5 Pro being $700 because they believe it’s targeting an audience willing to stomach that high cost.
“PS5 Pro, much like the PS4 Pro during the last generation, is targeted at the super-enthusiast console audience,” Piscatella explains. “This group tends to be a bit more price insensitive and tends to want the latest/greatest console technology available. But it is a relatively small audience.”
Meanwhile, MIDiA Research games industry analyst Rhys Elliott points to the success of PlayStation Portal and DualSense Edge, PS5 accessories that were deemed too expensive before release but still came out successful.
