PS5 Pro Aimed at 'Hardcore' Users, Pricing Has Not Had 'Negative Impact' on Sales, Says Sony President

Sony has said that the pricing of the newly launched PlayStation 5 Pro has not had a negative impact on console sales. While the company has not revealed initial sales figures for the PS5 Pro, it believes PS5 Pro sales will not have a “large contribution” to PS5 sales overall, considering it was a high-end console targeting “hardcore” users. The PS5 Pro launched in select markets on November 7 at a price of $699.99.

PS5 Pro Price Has No 'Negative Impact' on Sales

The comments came from Sony president Hiroki Totoki at the company's second quarter FY 2024 earnings call on Friday. In the Q&A session at the briefing, Totoki responded to a question about PS5 Pro pricing, saying PS5 Pro unit sales were included in the company's projections for overall PS5 sales in the current financial year. Sony expects to sell 18 million units of the console in FY 2024.

“PS5 Pro is rather high-end. Hardcore users are the target for this hardware. So, we don't have a large contribution incorporated. And compared with the PS5, I think in fact it's stronger,” Totoki said at the earnings call.

“In terms of the pricing — many people made different comments on that, but pricing for PS5 Pro has not had a negative impact, I don't think,” he added.

PS5 Pro Launch

The PS5 Pro, first announced in September, finally launched last week in select markets like the US, UK, EU and Japan. The console's high price point has attracted criticism since it was announced — PS5 Pro comes at an MSRP of $699.99 (roughly Rs. 58,750) in the US. In the UK, the console costs GBP 699.99, while in EU and Japan it is priced at EUR 799.99 and JPY 119,980 (includes tax), respectively.

Despite the high price, the upgraded console does not come with a disc drive out-of-the-box. Customers can purchase an attachable disc drive for $79.9 separately, further raising the price of the console for users who intends to play physical media, both games and films, on the console.

On Friday, Sony also confirmed that the PS5 Pro had not launched in India because of the government's telecom policy in the country. The new console supports Wi-Fi 7, (IEEE 802.11be) that utilises the 6Ghz spectrum band, which has not yet been allocated in India.