Sony just pulled back the curtain on the PlayStation 5 Pro, and the internet is doing what the internet does best: melting down over the price.
The upgraded console lands November 7 with a sticker price of $699.99, and that number alone has triggered a tidal wave of hot takes, meme warfare, and canceled preorders.
Let's get one thing straight — this is not a next-generation machine.
It's a mid-cycle refresh, the same strategy Sony used with the PS4 Pro back in 2016.
The headline upgrade is a beefed-up GPU promising up to 45 percent faster rendering, plus a new AI-driven upscaling tech called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution that Sony claims sharpens images without tanking your frame rate.
Translation for normal humans: games should look smoother and load faster, and some titles will finally hit that buttery 60 frames per second at higher resolutions.
Sony is also stuffing in a 2TB solid-state drive — double the launch model — because modern game installs have swollen to absurd sizes.
Call of Duty alone can eat a quarter of your storage.
Here's the catch that has folks seeing red.
The PS5 Pro does NOT include a disc drive.
That's an extra $79.99 if you want to play physical games or Blu-rays.
And if you've already got a library of discs, tough luck — you're paying again.
When you tally it up, a fully loaded setup creeps past $800 before you've bought a single game.
Analysts point out that $700 puts the console in direct firing range of a decent gaming PC, and with no exclusive must-have titles launching alongside it, the value proposition gets fuzzy fast.
Sony is betting that hardcore players — the ones who chase every pixel and frame — will pony up anyway.
For the vast majority of casual players, probably not yet.
Your standard PS5 still runs the biggest releases just fine, and developers have barely scratched the surface of what it can do.
The Pro is aimed squarely at enthusiasts with 120Hz TVs and disposable income, not families streaming Netflix on a Tuesday night.
But here's the thing about Sony: it rarely loses these gambles.
The PS4 Pro sold well despite similar skepticism, and the PS5 has outsold expectations for years.
If holiday sales stay strong, expect the $700 price tag to become the new normal across the industry — and expect competitors to follow.
The PS5 Pro is a luxury upgrade dressed up as a necessity, and Sony knows exactly what it's doing.
If you've got the cash and the screen to match, the performance bump is real.
Final Thoughts
Everyone else should wait for a price cut — or a bundle — before jumping in.