The Ps5 Pro Pricing is a Mess

A little over 2 weeks later and I still think the PS5 Pro pricing is a huge mistake for Sony in terms of desired sales volume. With all the time and money put into creating a PS5 pro it shocks me to see a price this high. The number of units sold to break even on development is going to be far higher then what Sony will sell in the first year and possible the next five. With so many cheaper alternatives that offer great gaming experiences, I can only imagine the most Sony Playstation fans picking up this product. Which I believe they will have a fantastic time! There is no denying that the PS5 Pro is an upgrade to the PS5. The main cause for concern is the marginal gains for the massive increase in price. Is any gamer going to get $700 plus the cost of the games worth of gaming over the next five years? With the Switch 2 on the horizon along with the next generation of gaming, why not hold out for those when there is not a single game that can’t be played on a different platform or for the cheaper PS5 pricing?

As someone who bought the PS3 slim and the PS4 Pro, I’ll be passing on the PS5 Pro at the price of $700.

-Reed

Transcript:

The PlayStation five Pro is $700, and that doesn't include a stand or cd drive. When I saw that pricing, I had to make a video because gaming is changing.

That is not to say gaming console pricing has reached a new high, because in the past, game consoles were grossly expensive as well. For example, the Atari 2600 was 189 95 in 1980, which is roughly $960 in today's value. But that price came at a time of scarcity in gaming supply. There weren't alternatives like there are today. So how can Sony charge $700 for a Pro Edition of the PlayStation five when it lacks a vast library of games to utilize it on? And with so many other options to play games on? Well, I believe it has to do with the gaming industry changing. Like I said at the start of this video, It is changing because Xbox has become a multiplatform game publisher. The console wars are dead and Sony is the winner. Having monopoly on high end console hardware has allowed them to raise prices of the standard PS5 over time, instead of reducing them like we saw with old consoles. Until the relatively new movement of media preservation kicked off because we were finding video games were being removed from storefronts, and then you couldn't play them anymore without more creative means.

It has become difficult to play old games without emulation, because all games and consoles are not made anymore.With that scarcity and nostalgia for old game consoles.In today's market, the pricing of those consoles have risen over time.Traditional gaming is becoming too expensive for the average consumer.Life is expensive for those making average or less than average in the world today.So I say again, gaming is changing.But why?well, I believe consumers now seek out alternatives.

Mobile gaming has become the forefront of gaming no matter the demographic.Subway surfers stumble. Guys, and Roblox has hundreds of millions of downloads in 2023.These games are changing the expectations for consumers.Mobile games have normalized microtransactions, time based earnings, and gacha games.Because that's what people have easy access to today.the PS5 Pro at $700 and the PS5 at $500are unintentionally pushing out the games that made gaming special for a different generation.Games like God of War and The Last of Us aren't going to be played, experienced, and advocated for because the average gamer can't afford that hardware.No one wants a $700 paperweight on top of that to play older games,because nothing new is being published,which is why people call the PS5 the PS4 plus. Gamers have access to almost every game on the PS5 if they own a PS4.With most gamers not caring about gaming resolution or not having the TVs and monitors to output the,the high quality to the marginal gains are not worth the large costs of upgrading to a PS5.So suddenly gaming isn't making sense to most gamers.Then add a price point of $700. You're better off buying or building a gaming PC at that point. If you are that hardcore about this,having access to steam and buying Game Pass will give you access to almost every game you could want. Besides some of the Nintendo exclusives which operate more in the mobile gaming space and convenience realm,not where thePS5 Pro's market is.I find it interesting, not necessarily bad, but interesting to see how gaming is changing.

What would have caused outrage in the past in the form of loot boxes and pay to win has been relatively normalized. Expensive high budget gaming looks to have its bubble popping because gamers are seeking out cheaper mobile alternatives more streaming platforms to play their games. That's also why we see so many publishers heavily investing in mobile gaming.Without the sales of consoles. Publishers won't be bankrolling studios like Naughty Dog to make the next big game.That may lead to a rise in indie publishing,doing more for less and seeing the inflated multimillion dollar budgets of games the way of the dodo. That could be a good thing. We might end up seeing a whole era like we experienced in the PlayStation two,where the hardware wasn't strong enough. To capture developers visions. So they had to get creative. And that creativity led to some of the greatest games ever made.Obviously, I don't know the future, but I was compelled to comment about the PS5 Pro charging so much for so little to the point of nickel and dimming customers for stand in disc drive.I believe the PS5 Pro, something I would have automatically upgrade to in the past, is the latest sign of a new era in the gaming industry,especially with competition of AI at the forefront of the worlds industries. Physical hardware is becoming more expensive instead of less.

All I can think is gaming. Landscape is going to be extremely different in five years from now.I don't believe this is a doom and gloom or like to be extremely excited about what's going on. I think it's cool to be witnessing history. There are natural market factors that are pushing consumers to behave in different ways, that are then forming.What's going to happen with our gaming industry?And I think that is a reason why we're seeing such a rise in indie publishing happening right now as well.And that popularity.And I also thought it was utterly outrageous to see a PS5 add $700.Who needs rent when you can have a PS5 Pro paperweight? And the last comment I want to say is, maybe if there were more games exclusively for the PS5 showcasing why it's exceptional, like in the past,then people would want to flock to that hardware. But with most games ending up on steam anyway that are exclusive to the PS4, like Horizon Zero Dawn the God of War series. I don't see a good logical reason to be purchasing this.Besides being a hardcore fan of the PlayStation Sony products.What do you think? Are you upgrading to the PS5 Pro or seeing alternatives? I'd love to know in the comments. Down below and thank you to all of our generous patrons that support this channel. Without them.These videos wouldn't be possible.All right,just a little quickie. I'll see you in the next video.