The PS5 Pro is heading our way, and while Sony might’ve been hoping for a more positive and accepting reaction, the fanbase had other plans. They weren’t pleased with its sky-high price. In the United States, it’ll set you back $699.99, and it’s even worse in Europe and Australia, where it is priced at €799.99 and AU$1,200, respectively.
Remember; the vertical stand, which couldn’t have cost a lot to produce, and the disc drive aren’t included. So, you’ll have to spend more to complete the package, raising the final cost even higher. At this point, it would be better to opt for a gaming PC or build one that could rival the PS5 Pro.
That being said, many are content with the pricing, including a prominent voice in the gaming industry, Respawn Entertainment CEO Vince Zampella. Even though I love what he’s contributed to the creation of Apex Legends and Call of Duty and how he is taking charge of bringing the Battlefield franchise around, I’d have to disagree with his take this time around respectfully – and here’s why.
Vince Zampella thinks the price is justified, but I beg to differ
In an interview with IGN about the next Battlefield title, the topic of the PS5 Pro came up, and Vince had an interesting take on it.
“I mean, I think it’s expected and anything that gets us better performance for the people that really love it. To me, it’s an amazing thing. I was watching something on it where the price… where they look at is it the most expensive. And it really isn’t. If you go back, some of the older consoles were just as expensive and probably adjusted for inflation were probably more. So it at first seemed a little shocking, but it’s kind of like, it’s actually not that bad. And if you get a $700 PC, you’re not getting the same performance that you’re getting out of it.”
Vince Zampella
I understand what Vince is trying to say, and I also believe that consoles will stay around, but I can’t help but feel like their time is slowly coming to an end. They won’t go completely extinct, but their essence, what made a gaming console like the PS5 Pro appealing, is slowly being stripped away. High prices combined with the fact that you need to have a subscription to play and then purchase the titles, and those titles aren’t even exclusive to the platform anymore. We recently saw Final Fantasy XVI coming to PC, as well as God of War Ragnarok, and future titles might even be released on PC from day one.
That said, for some people, the appeal of a gaming console is undoubtedly there as it takes up less space and doesn’t need a lot of technical knowledge to operate, as is the case if you’re building a PC. However, in my opinion, PC will always have the upper hand, which leads us to the next section.
PC trumps console in the long and short run, depending on your budget
Before we start, let’s get something out of the way. A $700 PC really wouldn’t have the same level of performance as the PS5 Pro, but it has longevity and upgradability, making it a worthwhile investment.
That said, it all comes down to your budget and how much you spend on a PC. Given how powerful PC components are nowadays, if you can build a high-end PC, it is entirely possible to outperform sthe PS5 Pro. That build should last you a good couple of years before needing to be upgraded.
In addition, you can play games from the 90s on any modern PC, living out your childhood days once again. This means they are fully backward compatible, but the same can’t be said about the PlayStation consoles, as you can’t play PS3 classics on the PS5 or PS5 Pro.
On the other hand, if you’re making a mid-range or budget build, you could get a gaming PC for $700. However, its performance won’t be anywhere close to that of a PS5 Pro, but you’ll have the option to upgrade it slowly and enhance its gaming performance.
The DualSense controllers also cost a lot. The DualSense Edge wireless controller costs around $199.99, and for that amount, you could get the best gaming mouse and the best gaming keyboard under $100 and still be left with some cash on hand.
That said, I’d also like to present a different scenario. Suppose you already have the peripherals but need to purchase some other components. For $199.99, you could get a budget air cooler like the Cooler Master Hyper 12 or the APNX AP1-V and the best DDR5 RAM to boost your rig’s overall performance. On the other hand, you could spend more to get high-end PC peripherals or look for a sale on a bundle, which generally includes a mouse and keyboard.
All in all, if the argument is that the PS5 Pro can push 4K 60FPS, so can the RTX 4070 Ti Super paired with any number of processors like the Ryzen 5 7600X or its successor, the 9600X, both of which we’ve reviewed.
So, you can start off strong with a PC build or eventually catch up to PS5 Pro’s performance starting with a budget or mid-range build, but the point is that PC will always have the upper hand.
Don’t forget about laptops
When it comes to PC gaming, the first image people think of is a tower case filled with RGB-infused components that scream the chant of PC superiority.
However, laptops are also part of the PC is better than the console debate, and there is no doubt that they can cost even as the components need to be shrunk down and provide almost the same level of performance as their desktop counterparts. Would a $700 laptop give you the in-game experience of the PS5 Pro? Not a chance. Can you take your work and games with you and play whenever you want? Absolutely, yes.
Portability is the ace that laptops have, certainly over desktop computers, and there are plenty of laptops that could blow the PS5 Pro out of the water, such as the MSI Titan 18 HX A14 or the MSI Raider GE78 HX 14VHG we’ve reviewed.
Now, before you state the obvious, yes, these devices cost a fortune, but you’re also getting better performance than the PS5 Pro, and you can carry all that performance with you on the go. That said, laptops also don’t require purchasing a monitor, mouse (this one is admittedly debatable for gaming), keyboard, and mousepad (ditto), as everything is included in the package.
That said, upgrading the CPU and GPU of a laptop isn’t possible; I mean, it is if you’re willing to put in hours and hours of effort and have the mental fortitude to do so. This puts us in the same boat as the PS5 Pro, but depending on which device you get, you can double or even quadruple the storage and memory, overall boosting performance whether in gaming or work.
Coming back to what Vince Zampella said, a $700 gaming PC, which is actually $810 if you include the stand and disc drive, won’t have the performance on par with the PS5 Pro, but you can upgrade to the best graphics cards, install DDR5 RAM, and get an X3D processor like the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, and 4K 60 FPS would be a breeze. It would cost you more, but these upgrades would be over the span of a long time, and the build will support anything you throw at it for years to come.
