I Pro evolution

Sony's latest console upgrade provides smattering of embellishments - for a price

Sony's long-rumoured PlayStation 5 Pro hardware finally became a reality on September 10, when a presentation by system architect Mark Cerny revealed that the console will debut on November 7.

Following the PS4 Pro approach, the console will offer enhanced graphics-processing capabilities rather than a comprehensive architectural overhaul, although it will ship with a 2TB SSD - an essential upgrade considering that the original PS5's meagre 667GB of usable SSD space is barely fit for purpose.

As could have been expected, given all console manufacturers' push towards moving consumers to digital-only game libraries, the PS5 Pro hardware will not ship with an optical drive. Less predictable was the price of entry. At £699 in the UK, the console recalls the PlayStation 3 introduction in 2005, when Sony's Ken Kutaragi famously encouraged potential customers to work more hours in order to be able to afford the console, which debuted in the US at $600. At $699, the US PS5 Pro's price tag doesn't look quite as steep to UK eyes as it does to those in North America, given that it equates to £530 at current exchange rates. Regardless, reaction to the new console's pricing was almost universally negative, with even the kindest takes concluding that asking nearly £700 for a slightly upgraded console is a hard sell.

Matching almost directly with rumours that had circulated in the run-up to Sony's official announcement, the Pro hardware speaks the same design language as the existing PS5 family, larger than 2023's Slim model but not as big as the towering original. Three ridges running across its body echo the three layers of the PS4 Pro design, the overall construction bringing to mind the limb joint of an Imperial stormtrooper's armour.