Sony defends PS5 Pro $700 price — 'no other AMD GPUs' have this tech

An image of the PS5 Pro on a colorful background
(Image credit: Sony)

When Sony announced the $700 PlayStation 5 Pro it was easy to scoff at the super-high price (even if it's somehow still cheaper than the PS3 at launch, which would cost $950 today according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator). 

However, it may be a console that we shouldn't dismiss outright. In an interview with CNET, Sony's Mark Cerny, the chief architect behind the PS5 and PS5 Pro, claims that this high-end console will feature ray tracing tech that "no other AMD GPUs" use — yet.

Cerny did not provide specific details about what is going with the AMD GPU in the PS5 Pro. He does note that new ray tracing technology was created by AMD as part of a GPU road map and that the company's RX 9700 XTX units don't have whatever this new ray tracing tech is yet. Without more information, it certainly sounds like Sony has something unique and exclusive from AMD.

From the interview, Cerny says that "we motivated the development" of this new tech. In our read, it sounds like a big motivation was to not only improve graphics but also make it easier to port PS5 games over to PC. At the same time, he tells CNET that Sony wants to "lead the way" for future gaming trends. This is something that Cerny has claimed before about Sony consoles, which is debatable.

Regarding ray tracing, presumably, Cerny is talking around the as yet unreleased RNDA 4 GPUs that AMD is expected to target the mid-range segment of the GPU market. Currently, the PS5 utilizes RDNA 2 architecture, which is significantly slower than the available RDNA 3 that has been out since 2022.

With a 1.67x speed increase over the standard PS5, and potentially RDNA 4, we could see significant performance improvements on the Pro models. We'll know more when the PS5 Pro officially hits shelves on November 7.

The news is interesting, and it may give us a preview of how AMD wants to challenge Nvidia, which currently dominates ray tracing. However, save the most techy of gamers, it may not justify the new price point for most people. Even considering inflation and the rising cost of production, $700 remains a tough pill to swallow.

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Scott Younker
West Coast Reporter

Scott Younker is the West Coast Reporter at Tom’s Guide. He covers all the lastest tech news. He’s been involved in tech since 2011 at various outlets and is on an ongoing hunt to build the easiest to use home media system. When not writing about the latest devices, you are more than welcome to discuss board games or disc golf with him. 

  • SmgUk
    They can defend all they want still ain't buying it to play what exactly? Concord ?, SW Outlaws ?, PS4 games ?

    PS5 has no games
    Reply
  • Thronnos
    So I think something to keep in mind is that while it is true that adjusted for inflation the PS3 is either the same price at best or more expensive at worst, wages have not kept up with inflation. Most people still made the same hourly then that they do now, as minimum wage has not increased by the same percentage. So the money back then counted for more.
    Reply
  • droideka75
    All the good will I had towards Sony for Astrobot just evaporated in a second after hearing the absolute elitist move they are pulling here. Selling my PS5 and getting a PC or Xbox with game pass seems the right thing to do. Or a switch 2. Anything but Sony. I think I'll just get rid of anything Sony going forward... Yeah that's how mad I am at them. It's not the money even, I could pay that, it's the principle.
    Reply