PS5 Pro sales trail behind PS4 Pro in the US – and it’s easy to see why
Sony’s souped up PlayStation 5 isn’t faring as well as the PS4 Pro
📉 PS5 Pro sales have fallen behind PS4 Pro in the US for the same time frame
💰 The PS5 Pro is significantly more expensive than the PS4 Pro
😔 It also doesn’t have a disc drive
🤔 Sales could drop further as consumers wait for the Nintendo Switch 2
PS5 Pro sales in the US have “fallen” behind the PS4 Pro, according to industry analyst Mat Piscatella.
In a post on Bluesky, Piscatella said, “PS5 Pro has fallen behind PS4 Pro’s pace” and noted that “PlayStation hardware spending dipped 38% year-on-year.” (Thanks, Eurogamer.)
Sony’s more powerful PlayStation 5 released in November 2024 for $699.99, making it the most expensive PlayStation to date by some margin. It also dwarfed the $399.99 launch price of the PS4 Pro.
The PS5 Pro also doesn’t have a disc drive. If you want to play your physical games, you’ll need to splash out another $79.99 if you can find the PS5 Disc Drive in stock.
Even though there’s a healthy list of PS5 Pro enhanced games, the differences aren’t as stark as we saw with PS4 games running on PS4 Pro.
PS4 Pro offered 4K resolution for those with compatible sets, while the focus for PS5 Pro has largely been on better upscaling for games and closing the gap between performance and quality modes.
Sony has always aimed the PS5 Pro at hardcore PlayStation players who want the best visuals and performance, and believes the high price of the PlayStation 5 Pro hasn’t had a negative impact on PS5 Pro sales.
However, while it’s clear PS5 Pro is a harder sell than its predecessor, other factors have likely led to a decline in sales. The Nintendo Switch 2 launch is fast approaching, and consumers may feel their money is better spent on picking up Nintendo’s next console. Spending is also down across the board compared to the previous year.
As someone who bought a PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, I still can’t justify purchasing a PS5 Pro. There simply isn’t enough compelling exclusives on Sony’s console to make the jump worth it, and only a few games truly benefit from being enhanced like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, which just released on PC.
PS4 Pro reportedly made up around 15% of PS4 sales, which reached 117.2 million units. Sony would no doubt love to repeat that percentage split with the PS5 Pro, but it’ll need to do more to push its more powerful console on undecided buyers.
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.
Definately save your money Adam at least until Sony drops the price.
I really wish I could say there is a justifiable reason to buy a pro and at least from my own stand point; as someone that bought one, there isn’t at least not yet. I actually find it’s kinda glitchy and loves to throw itself off WiFi a lot when the old fat one was perfectly fine.