The PS5 Pro value dilemma - is a release from FOMO all you're getting here?
Did Sony really take the PSSR?
I don't know who needs to hear this, but I'll let you into a secret: it's okay to spend your money on whatever you want. That's not to say we don't all buy things we probably shouldn't, of course. I recently bought 24 cartons of barista oat milk only to find that it doesn't foam. That's over a month of regret right there, and that was just this week. I even bought a SEGA Mega CD for crying out loud! If you fancy yourself a £700 PlayStation 5 Pro, the new high-end mid-gen console from Sony, I'm not going to stand in your way… but you might want to read this first.
Over the last week I've been pondering how best to sum up the machine in a smart, witty, and articulate way. The best I could come up with is this: you know when you find something funny, like a tweet or meme, and you save it to show your partner later that evening? Then you make a big song and dance about how they've got to see this brilliant thing you saw online. You show it and… nothing. At best you get a pitying stare that suggests you're one step closer to receiving divorce papers. Realising that things have gone south, you explain the funny image and words, pointing out why it's actually one of the most hilarious things you've seen in ages, which makes you start to sound a little obsessed. It's over, they aren't getting it. You sigh inwardly as they let out a laugh usually reserved to humour your toddler who's excitedly burst into the room to announce they've done a "bottom burp". This is the PS5 Pro experience.
Mid-generation consoles are a tricky thing to position in the market. Sold at a higher price than most would be willing to pay and without any exclusive games, they're a bit like splashing out on a higher spec car package. Sure, both cars do more or less the same things, but one also parallel parks for you and heats the steering wheel on cold mornings. They've got to cater for a hardcore group of buyers, but buyers that probably aren't that bothered about high-end PC gaming (I mean, who wants that hassle? Disclaimer: I had that hassle for years when I was younger.) And that's actually one of the big "make sure you understand this before buying a PS5 Pro" points I want to make.
The PS5 Pro isn't a PC. It's a console that can only operate within the boundaries defined by the games it runs. If you buy a new PC, you'll be able to see improvements in pretty much every modern game you own. Whether it's higher resolution or frame rate, better texture detail, improved shadows, ray tracing features… the list could go on and on, and this is one of the joys of upgrading your PC. The PS5 Pro is able to deliver better frame rates, higher resolution graphics, and better ray tracing, but only if it's allowed to do so. I've seen people online a bit miffed that all their PS4 and PS5 games don't look better on the Pro. Sadly that's just not how console gaming works, but there is some nuance to that.
PS5 Pro supported games are in relatively short supply at the moment, with the official number being more than 50. These are PS5 games that have received an official update from the developer, adding graphical enhancements of some sort. These can come via new selectable modes or simply a better overall experience for all PS5 Pro users. Horizon Forbidden West, for example, offers three new PS5 Pro modes, whilst The Crew Motorfest opts for just one that can't be changed. Some games will offer frame rates beyond 60FPS (if you have a capable VRR-supporting 120Hz TV), others will aim for a locked rate at 60 or 30. In the case of Insomniac's PS5 games, the studio has gone even further, allowing you to turn on/off various advanced ray tracing features that impact overall performance. The nuance comes from the games that haven't been updated for the Pro, and these have been interesting to test out.
Dirt 5 and Devil May Cry 5 are two games I looked at during the launch of the PS5, and both offer existing graphics modes that allow the PS5 Pro to give boosted performance. In the case of DMC5, it really makes the ray tracing mode far more playable than on a standard PS5 (or Xbox Series X for that matter). I should add here that many of these improvements won't be apparent unless you are using one of those aforementioned VRR TVs. A bit like how the PS4 Pro was predominantly for people with a 4K TV, the PS5 Pro has so far made me more willing to use high frame rate modes. The standard PS5 offers plenty of games that support high frame rates, but they often come with cutbacks to visuals and image resolution. The Pro handles these modes far better.
"What about older games?", you ask as you gaze upon a collection of PS4 games that represent the relentless march of time and your eventual demise (The PS4 released 11 years ago. 11 years!). PS4 games that render at 1080p can benefit from a sort of image sharpening, but the impact of this varies wildly. To my eyes, Dark Souls 3 looks crisper running on the PS5 Pro compared to the standard PS5, but other games don't seem to benefit as much. I saw a lot of chatter about Bloodborne looking better on the Pro, but honestly it's so slight, and I mostly saw improvements to the sharpness of the HUD elements. In short, I definitely wouldn't be looking to buy a PS5 Pro to improve PS4 games.
Not much of this PS5 Pro brain dump has talked about what games are actually like to play, rather than just how crisp the images look on your TV. That's sort of the point, really, given most games these days offer passable 60 FPS modes - the big change with the Pro is image clarity and a handful of neat new graphical bells and whistles. For a lot of people, we're dealing with a real life working example of the "It's the same picture" meme. I think that's fair, but if you're one of the enlightened, like me (naturally), you'll see enough.
To give clarity (get it?) to my own feelings on the PS5 Pro, I spent a good chunk of time back on my standard PS5, playing the same games I'd been messing around with on the Pro. It was at this point that I found reason in what some have been calling PlayStation's PS5 Pro madness. Let me tell you a short story about cola. I was a die-hard special edition glass collector of Coke. Real Coca-Cola Christmas Truck Coke. Then 'cozzie livs' happened (urghh, what a horrid term!) and I started buying a supermarket brand cola instead. It is fine, nice even. Years passed, until two months ago when I bought two mispriced crates of the good stuff again. So good, it tasted like it had been brewed by Coke Santa himself, but the supply ran out and the supermarket brand bottles came back. Let me tell you, that's hard. Going back to the standard PS5 is like being slapped in the face with a budget brand cola. Clear?
I'm not Rich from Digital Foundry so forgive me when I say this lazy but accurate summation: everything* seems better on the PS5 Pro.
(*everything that isn't locked down due to previously mentioned console development foibles.)
Heck, EA FC25 is Pro supported, but it's one of the most insignificant updates I've seen in over 20 games, which is disappointing. The kicker, though, is that because its menus are so much snappier, even this is a game I'd struggle to go back to on the original PS5.
We're spiralling a bit now, but I can't ignore some of the PS5 Pro's needlessly infuriating issues and unexpected benefits. Number one on my list is how the console's UI (which is the same as the PS5's by the way), doesn't tell you which games in your library are updated for the Pro. There's no visual indicator and no filter in your library. It is maddening! You can check the PS Store for a list of PS5 Pro supported games, but even these aren't guaranteed to have been updated, and the handy patch notes feature the PS4 had is gone on PS5. For games that haven't had new modes added in the visual settings menu, you're left wondering if what you're seeing is Pro improved or just brute force improved. Wonderful stuff all round, Sony. Thanks!
In terms of the physical console itself, it's surprisingly smaller than I anticipated, but not compact. It makes some fan noise, but it's not noticeable when you're actually playing something, and the 2TB of storage is exceedingly welcome. I set off a long list of games to install and I've still got some space left, which feels like I've unlocked a console life hack. I upgraded my Xbox Series X to 2TB last year and it is one of the best decisions of my gaming life. I feel the same about the storage space afforded here. It's a real game changer if you've been struggling along with just what the OG PS5 offered. I had initially thought Sony should have given less storage and reduced the overall price of the system, but it was absolutely the right choice.
Finally, and this one might seem picky, but the whole thing, from unboxing to setup, doesn't feel prestigious enough. The Xbox Series X box gives the impression of luxury, but the PS5 Pro box feels like you've bought a refurb. Inside is a tiny bag containing two plastic feet that I almost threw away, which bizarrely fit right in the centre of the console so it can sit horizontally. It's not sturdy in any way, but it does at least sit there. This thing doesn't exactly make you feel special.
Congratulations, you've made it to the end. I'll leave you with a few closing thoughts. If, like me, you are someone who overthinks things, chances are you will spend considerable time pondering a PS5 Pro purchase. You'll be playing next year's graphical powerhouse from Sony and resenting all those Pro owners who are playing the same game, just a bit better. You'll slowly grow to hate these people and potentially lose long-standing friendships. These kinds of thoughts eat into my free time and stop me enjoying things. Remember that rambling part of the intro where I went on about tweets? That's it. That's the PS5 Pro. If you are the kind of person who cares about such a console, it's for you. As I think Margaret Wolff Hungerford famously said, value is in the eye of the card holder. If you can buy a PS5 Pro, I don't think you'll regret it over the remainder of the PS5's time as Sony's main platform. If not, own-brand coke is fine... I promise.