Sony's $700 PS5 Pro: What's missing and why fans are upset

Sony’s announcement of the new PlayStation 5 Pro has left many gamers scratching their heads, with several key disappointments dampening enthusiasm for the upgraded console. One thread on Reddit has garnered over seven thousand upvotes and has over a thousand comments discussing the fiasco.

Perhaps the biggest letdown is the absence of a built-in disc drive in the $700 base model. “YOU GUYS ARE SELLING THE DISC DRIVE SEPARATELY FOR A $700 DOLLAR CONSOLE!?!?” exclaimed YouTuber Ndukauba. This omission forces buyers to shell out an additional $80 for the disc drive, pushing the total cost to a staggering $780 for full functionality. Don’t forget that this price excludes tax. So when you add things up, buyers will likely end up paying close to $800 for the PS5 and the separate disc drive.

The missing stand adds another layer to the mounting frustrations. As one Reddit user pointed out, “Remember the vertical stand is also sold separately.” This means that beyond the $700 base price and potential $80 for the disc drive, users who want to stand their console vertically will need to spend even more. “No stand either. I have no idea how many people stand their PS5 up, but I suspect it’s quite a few. This thing is such a ripoff,” another user commented. This nickel-and-diming approach for what many consider essential accessories has further soured opinions on the PS5 Pro’s value proposition.

The lack of compelling new games specifically designed to showcase the PS5 Pro’s capabilities has also drawn criticism. As one person on X pointed out, “$700 and the first game we saw running on PS5 Pro was a PS4 game man lol.” I’m not sure what Sony was thinking when it decided that it was perfectly okay to attempt to wow fans by using older titles to demonstrate the console’s power. That would be like Apple demonstrating Temple Run on the latest iPhone to show off the “upgraded” performance.

Another major disappointment is the continued existence of performance and fidelity modes. Despite the significant hardware improvements, Mark Cerny’s technical presentation of the PS5 Pro also doesn’t instill much confidence. Looking past all the marketing mumbo jumbo, it’s clear that the PS5 Pro still won’t support constant 60fps gaming in fidelity mode.

The absence of substantial exclusive features has also been noted. Unlike the PS4 Pro, which introduced 4K gaming to consoles, the PS5 Pro doesn’t seem to offer any groundbreaking new capabilities that justify its high price point. Someone even put together a list of PC parts that you could buy for just $500 more than what you’d pay for the PS5 Pro and get a much better gaming experience.

Even positive aspects, like improved ray tracing and AI upscaling, have been overshadowed by these disappointments. Most reactions online about the PS5 Pro are primarily negative. In fact, the general sentiment seems to be well reflected in the amount of alleged dislikes that the reveal video on YouTube received.

Of course, the dislike to like ratio should be taken with a grain of salt, since the third-party extension used to display the amount of dislikes on videos can sometimes be wrong by a long shot.

As the November 7 release date approaches, Sony faces an uphill battle to convince gamers that the PS5 Pro represents a worthwhile investment. With these disappointments looming large, many are left wondering if this upgrade is truly necessary or if, as one Reddit user put it, “Sony, Sony, Sony…you fu**ed up. You fu**ed up real bad.”

What are your thoughts about the new PS5 Pro? Do you think fans are overreacting, or is the outrage justified? Let us know in the comments below.