PlayStation 5 Pro for 800 euros: The price of good taste

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It's a shame that gaming hardware is getting more and more expensive. PC gamers have been complaining about horrendous graphics card prices for years, and now Sony is breaking all price conventions for games consoles with the €800 PS5 Pro. The PlayStation 5 Pro is therefore not suitable as a gaming device for the masses. For a selective audience, however, there is practically no alternative.

Console gaming is usually associated with compromises. Current blockbuster games have long since surpassed the performance of the PS5 and Xbox Series X. They therefore often run either as a pixel mess at 60 fps or in a respectable resolution at a choppy 30 fps. As a rule, the user is even allowed to choose their own poison.

An opinion by Daniel Herbig

Daniel Herbig reports on heise online about video games, consumer electronics and other gadgets.

The new Playstation makes this dilemma obsolete in many games, as our test of the PS5 Pro shows. To put it simply: if you play on the Pro, you get a decent resolution in many games, including competent AI upscaling via PSSR and at least 60 frames per second on the screen at the same time.

Clearly visible improvements

Of course, the Pro still can't achieve native 4K in games such as "Alan Wake 2" and "Horizon Forbidden West" - it's too weak for that. However, the improvements in image quality cannot be denied: Higher render resolutions, with the improved upscaling, ensure sharp images on high-resolution 4K screens. The subtle difference is particularly evident in a direct comparison with the PS5's performance modes. PSSR doesn't work quite as well as Nvidia's DLSS, but is vastly superior to FSR 2 on previous Playstation consoles.

The jump from 30 to 60 fps can also completely transform the gaming experience. Depending on the game, the PS5 Pro can even output variable frame rates of up to 120 fps when unlocked, which are usually reserved for PC gamers.

A question of money

Anyone who thinks they won't be able to notice all these differences anyway should count themselves lucky and save the money for the console upgrade. Everyone else now has a potentially costly decision to make. Unfortunately, from the perspective of price-conscious prospective buyers, there is nothing else that would disqualify the PS5 Pro and make the decision easier. The power consumption of 231 watts under load is only slightly higher than that of the original PS5 and the slim version, and the noise level of 0.9 sone is still barely audible. The only thing you can still get hung up on is the drive: it is sold separately and costs an extra 120 euros. That's a bit cheeky.

Ultimately, it's all about the money. You can get the PS5 for 500 euros, so the PS5 Pro costs 300 euros more without the drive. Quality has its price: simple LCD televisions are available for a few hundred euros, while high-contrast OLEDs can easily cost twice as much. Enthusiastic music lovers spend four-figure sums on amplifiers and high-end headphones, although it has been proven that Bluetooth earbuds for 20 euros also produce sound. If you have high expectations, you'll pay more – Unfortunately, consoles and PCs now cost significantly more than they did a few years ago.

The price-performance ratio is still right

The calculation for the PS5 Pro is particularly tricky because many people already have a PS5 at home. Is the upgrade worth it if you can still sell on your old console? Ultimately, that's for everyone to decide. Sony's new console delivers roughly the same gaming performance as a solid mid-range PC. But you don't get solid mid-range PCs for 800 euros: The AMD graphics card RX 7700 XT, which comes closest to the performance of the PS5 Pro, costs over 400 euros alone – and then there's still a bit missing until the finished PC. What's more, games for consoles are generally better optimized.

Sure, games are cheaper on the PC. But gaming computers are not compatible with every living room anyway. For many console gamers, the question arises as to whether a PC wouldn't be the better option, i.e. not at all.

The PS5 Pro is therefore not an affront to the loyal gaming community, not a cynical cash grab designed to take money out of the pockets of fanboys. Improvements in picture quality and frame rates are clearly visible and immediately noticeable. The Pro has its place as an alternative for gamers with high demands who don't want to put a PC under their TV. Everyone else can keep their normal PlayStation without a guilty conscience – Frugality is also a virtue.

(dahe)