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On Nov. 7, Sony is set to ship the first units of its PlayStation 5 Pro to consumers. You might have assumed Sony decided to create its $700 behemoth around the same time as the PS5 slim, especially because they share so many design elements. However, PlayStation bosses said they started on the mid-cycle upgrade before the first PS5 launched in 2020. If that’s the case, why doesn’t the PS5 Pro come with a disc drive, and why can’t I use my existing covers on its next console?
The PlayStation 5 Pro was in development “even before” the original PS5 launched, Sony Interactive co-CEO Hideaki Nishino told Variety in a new interview released Friday. Nishino was previously head of products at Sony’s gaming brand back in 2020 when Sony launched the first PS5 models, so he should know better than anyone. “It was another five year project for us,” he told the outlet.
“There was a conversation around whether we wanted to do another Pro or not,” Nishino said. “But the main thing was there are technologies we can grow up in three years’ time or five years’ time. So the innovation and technology advancement is more quicker in a modern world.”
Anybody who has been following PS5 Pro news lately might be a little confused by the comments. This week, a Redditor alleged that the covers you can buy separately for the PS5 slim models won’t actually work on the upcoming Pro. Sony then confirmed with IGN that any first—or third-party plates are incompatible. The bottom plate may fit on, but while the top portion looks like it might fit above the PS5 Pro’s vents, the top has different connection points than the slim.
Gizmodo reached out to Sony about the cover’s compatibility, but we have not heard back. Sony insists that people will be able to buy new PS5 Pro-specific plates that will be available “in the future.” It’s only an aesthetic thing, but Nishino told Variety they found that “most engaged gaming users” are interested in the Pro, alongside new users.
“We design everything with having one ahead in our mind,” Nishino said. “It’s not like we just make a next step, and we don’t know about the two steps ahead.”
It’s just another annoying aspect of the PS5 Pro before anybody can show the performance difference between the more powerful GPU and the last-gen PlayStation 5. The new PS5 also won’t come with a disc drive option. You have to buy one separately for $80. Sony confirmed that the drive is compatible with both PS5 and PS5 Pro, but it seems extra silly that Sony didn’t think to make the top portion compatible with slim covers.
The PlayStation Interactive co-CEO also said that 20% of customers bought the $400 (at launch) PlayStation 4 Pro in addition to those who bought the regular PS4. That was back when Sony knocked down the price of the base model. That’s not happening this time around. The PS5 Pro is $700, and the PS5 is still $500 at base. That’s not to say the PlayStation 5 Pro won’t sell well. Just look how many people scrambled over each other to beat the scalpers to the 30th Anniversary limited edition Pro model.
Inevitably, gamers will buy a PS5 Pro and then try to sell their older console. Is Sony truly doing all this just to milk a few more bucks from people who want specific console covers? That is unlikely since there won’t be new Pro-specific covers at launch. We also don’t expect it to impact sales. The big update for the Pro is the enhanced GPU and the promise of AI upscaling. But if the point of consoles is to be easier than PC gaming, cross-compatibility would go a long way toward that end.
As Nishino said in the Variety interview, “the Pro is not a next gen. It is still in the PS5 generation. PS5 Pro will do everything that PS5 does.” That is, of course, except for playing your game discs out of the box.
