I am looking forward to a stronger PlayStation 5 later this year. I’ve got the money set aside for it and am ready to buy it when pre-orders open later this month. And funnily enough, admitting this online will probably result in people yelling at me.
Before Sony revealed its long-rumored PS5 Pro earlier this week, I didn’t expect it to generate so much buzz. I thought some people would be happy to buy a better console, others would dislike it, and most just wouldn’t even have an opinion. Boy, was I wrong! It turns out the $700 PS5 Pro is the latest online war zone where people take sides, share saucy views, bully people they disagree with, and generally just freak out about every part of it. It’s wild to watch.
Nevertheless, I will gladly PS5Pro later this year. Why? Well, to be blunt, I want a better PlayStation and I’m willing to spend $700 on it.
I know that sounds ridiculous to some people. And that’s OK. In reality, any video game console is a wild luxury that many people in this world can’t afford, and some are just more luxurious and expensive than others. I’ll admit that $700 is a lot of money for a game console, but what Sony is offering for that price seems like a fair trade to me, a person who has a big, dumb, fancy 4K TV in their basement.
I want to be sure that when a new game comes out in 2025, I have the most powerful console option to play it on. (Assuming said game comes out on the PS5.) I want higher resolutions and frame rates. I want cleaner images that are less blurry. I want ray-traced lighting and shadows. I want wider draw distances. I want Grand Theft Auto 6 to look as good and run as perfectly as possible. That’s important to me. Even if you don’t see the difference or don’t carewhich is fair, I notice these things. And I’m willing to spend $700 to get all these improvements.
I already have a gaming PC!
“But why not just buy a high-end PC?!” I hear some people shout. Well, I already have one. And I play a lot of games on it. It’s great. But I also spend every day of the week working on my PC in my home office. The last thing I want to do after work is keep sitting at that desk playing a game. For me, gaming on a console offers a more comfortable, relaxed experience that doesn’t feel like I’m at work.
And yes, I can run an HDMI cable from my PC to my TV and play on the couch. I know. I’ve done that before. But sometimes I’m tired and I want to crawl onto my comfy couch and play a video game on my big stupid TV. I don’t want to mess with drivers, cables, or multiple launchers. I just want to press play Astro Bot and feel good for about two hours. With a PS5 Pro I can do that and the games will look and play better, which is what I value and what’s important to me. Sound good to me?
As someone who couldn’t buy new consoles growing up because money was tight, I like buying the latest PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo console because it feels good. It’s a little reward for myself, a way of saying, “Hey, good job for saving money and being responsible. Have fun with this stupid new tech thing.”
I understand that not everyone can afford a PS5 Pro. I don’t have kids. I live in Kansas. My cost of living is low, so I have savings and “spending money.” Not everyone does, and if you can’t afford a PS5 Pro, I’m not shaming you or saying you’re not allowed to be sad about it. I’m just stating that I can afford it. It’s not going to rip me off or stop me from paying other bills. I’m a responsible (more or less) adult who decided I want a more powerful console, and I’m going to buy it and have fun with it. You can yell at me on Twitter, but I’ll probably just block you.
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