PS5 Pro Already Discounted and Still Widely Available?

This is not to say the console is a failure of course but PS5 Pro stock is still widely available and scalpers have been widely reported as losing money with the PS5 Pro (Hurray!). Already we are seeing some discounting for the console.

Are you planning on buying one?

I think there are quite a few factors at play;

• It's incredibly expensive.

• It's a performance upgrade but at 16 Teraflops already many PC graphics card comfortably outperform it and they also have greater CPU performance and more memory. There has been various youtube videos of people configuring PC's for similar money with similar performance.

• There is no built in disc drive so it brings digital only content to the Playstation with exclusive PS5 Pro titles unlikely to ever be available on disc.

• Playstation software is now noticeably more expensive than PC software plus you have to pay for online gaming at a minimum of £50 a year. PC games can be incredibly cheap, Epic give free games away every week on their platform and there is a huge amount of abandonware on PC. Custom game mods constantly improve older PC Games and give them new levels and features plus improved graphics.

• Consoles in general have lost a lot of competitiveness with other hardware in recent times.

• UK and US citizens are getting poorer overall with a lot more people having far less disposable income.

• People are getting tired of support for consoles being switched off. They invest in software only for it to be taken from them in a few years when support ends for their console. Almost all Steam games are still available to install on your PC even if you bought them right back at the beginning of the steam platform.

• Nowadays its easier to play older Playstation, Nintendo and Xbox titles on PC than consoles through emulation.

• While PC hardware is now competitive with Playstation in performance for a similar price point the PC is still upgradeable and you can start investing in PC software when you have a much slower cheaper PC and then play those games at higher settings when you have upgraded.

• Depreciation, when a console isn't a runaway success at launch it is likely to have a price drop soon after launch. So now that the launch has been slow there is more inventory to clear, sat on shop shelves or stuck in warehouses.

• Mid-gen upgrades to consoles don't always get amazing support or much additional functionality. The PS4 Pro did not get huge improvements over the original PS4 and the PS5 Pro is a similar small upgrade on the original PS5 like the PS4 to PS4 Pro. The Xbox One to Xbox One X was a huge upgrade in comparison.

• The PS5 Pro may be a console you don't really need and won't have any exclusive software.