How the new Xbox consoles can help us predict the PS5 Pro's price
Microsoft's new range of Xbox Series X and Series S consoles give us a pretty good indicator of the PS5 Pro's price
🆕 Microsoft is launching three new Xbox consoles this holiday
🤍 An all-digital Xbox Series X was previously leaked and has now been confirmed
💰 Prices start from $349.99 but the 2TB Xbox Series X costs $599.99
🤔 The new Xbox consoles give us an indication of the PS5 Pro’s price
Microsoft announced three new Xbox consoles during its Games Showcase, though calling them “new” might be a stretch. We didn’t see an Xbox Series X Slim as many hoped, nor did we get an Xbox handheld tease.
Instead, players will soon be able to choose between an all-digital white Xbox Series X, a 1TB Xbox Series S in Robot White, and a new special edition Xbox Series X that comes with 2TB of storage and a Galaxy Black finish. And it’s the latter that gives us a good indication of what the PS5 Pro’s price could be.
None of the new Xbox consoles are being sold for particularly appealing price points. The Xbox Series S 1TB is the same $349.99 as the Carbon Black console released last September, and the all-digital white Xbox Series X is $449.99, that’s despite the fact you could pick up and Xbox Series X with Diablo 4 during Black Friday for $349.99 and the standard Xbox Series X with a disc drive is currently $449.99 at Walmart and Best Buy.
But it’s the special edition Xbox Series X with 2TB of storage that is the most expensive of the three. It costs $599.99, which means you’re paying $100 for the galaxy black finish and 1TB of additional SSD space. Again, the Xbox Series X with a game dropped to $349.99 for Black Friday and is still readily available for $449.99 at most retailers, so it’s a hard sell.
But while the new Xbox consoles are unlikely to change the fortunes of Microsoft’s hardware sales, despite a strong games lineup, it gives us a fairly good indication of the PS5 Pro’s price.
The PS5 Pro is still tipped to release toward the end of this year and is rumored to cost $599.99. That’s almost a certainty if Microsoft is charging $599.99 for a special edition Xbox Series X with 1TB more space. It also suggests that Sony won’t be able to offer more than 1TB of storage with the PS5 Pro, as internal SSD prices seem to equate to a $50 increase for 500GB of more storage and $100 for 1TB of space.
We also need to take into account that Sony currently sells the PS5 Slim for $499.99 and didn’t introduce a price drop. In fact, the PS5 Slim Digital Edition increased in price from $399.99 to $459.99.
For Sony to offer a more powerful console for only $100 more feels extremely ambitious, especially as both Sony and Microsoft raised the prices of their consoles this generation, which has never happened before. Prices have remained steadfast ever since outside of the odd sale.
The PS5 Pro price will likely be $599.99 at its very lowest, then, but it could even creep as high as $649.99 based on the current market conditions and Microsoft’s new Xbox Series X. Sony hasn’t exactly offered compelling prices for its hardware, either, with the DualSense Edge controller costing $199.99 and the PSVR 2 priced at $549.99. If you’re eyeing up Sony’s PlayStation 5 Pro, expect to pay a premium.
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.