TechGamingGaming ConsolesShould I wait for a PS5 Pro or just buy a PlayStation 5 now?T3 analyses the pros and cons of waiting for the PS5 Pro and PS5 Slim before buying a next-gen Sony consoleWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
TechGamingGaming ConsolesShould I wait for a PS5 Pro or just buy a PlayStation 5 now?T3 analyses the pros and cons of waiting for the PS5 Pro and PS5 Slim before buying a next-gen Sony consoleWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
T3 analyses the pros and cons of waiting for the PS5 Pro and PS5 Slim before buying a next-gen Sony console
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Future / Team Ninja)
(Image credit: Future / Team Ninja)
WithPS5 restocksstill nowhere near frequent enough to make it easy to buy aPlayStation 5console, and with rumours of a mid-gen hardware refresh escalating, we imagine a lot of gamers are now asking themselves, “should I wait for aPS5 Proor just buy aPlayStation5?”
And, simply put, that’s what this article is designed to explore. It’s true that mid-gen hardware refreshes for the PS5have been reported, as too that we’re now over two years into the PlayStation 5’s lifecycle which, based on past generations, points toward the Japanese maker releasing some sort of new console hardware over the next year.
For example, thePS4 Proreleased in November 2016, three years after the originalPS4had launched in November 2013. ThePS4 Slimwas released in 2016, too. In addition, the PS3 Slim was released in September 2009, just under three years after the original PS3 had launched in November 2006. Asanyonecan see, there’s a three-year pattern, and if that release pattern is followed for the PS5 generation then we can expect to see either or both a PS5 Pro andPS5 Slimin late 2023.
I’ll cover whatI thinkare the reasons to wait for PS5 Pro, as well as the reasons I think it’s still smart to buy a PS5 now. Finally, I’ll talk briefly about the PS5 Slim as an option, too.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
PS5 Pro: reasons to wait for it
Here are the reasons in favor of waiting to buy a PS5 Pro in my opinion.
1.It’s going to be more powerful for sure, perhaps even the most powerful console of all time. Indeed, the first-ever rumor about the PS5 Pro thatwe saw surfacewas that it could be atwo-GPUconsole. There is of course no concrete information about just how powerful a PS5 Pro would be released so far, however, what we do have ispredicted specs from tech firm TCL, which point toward anXbox Series X-beating gaming powerhouse. So why buy a PS5 now when, potentially, just next year a markedly more powerful PS5 Pro is going to launch?
- The PS5 library still isn’t huge, despite some excellent exclusives. There’s no doubt that PlayStation 5 is starting to kill it with some jaw-dropping exclusives such asHorizon Forbidden WestandGod of War Ragnarok, but it’s also a fact that the library of PS5 games actually still isn’t that big yet and, two, we’re still firmly in cross-platform territory. We’ve yet to havegenuine, made-just-for-PS5 blockbusters drop. Even God of War Ragnarok and Horizon Forbidden West, for example, can be played on PS4.
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3.Sonyjust put the price of PS5 up and it’sstillhard to buy, with very expensive bundles normally the only way gamers can bag a console without getting very lucky. It feels crazy that PS5 is still ‘invitation only’ or simply ‘out of stock’ at almost all retailers now two years after launch, but it is and that’s making buying a PS5 (certainly if you don’t want to buy it as part of an even more expensive bundle) hard andexpensiveto do. As such, why pay over the odds now for a console when you could save a bit more cash and put it toward a PS5 Pro pre-order?
(Image credit: Sony)
(Image credit: Sony)
PS5: reasons to buy now
Here are the reasons I think you can argue it makes sense to buy a PS5 now in my opinion.
- Those exclusive games are jaw-dropping to play, and whet the appetite for genuine PS5-gen AAA games. God of War Ragnarok, out now exclusively for PS5, has aphenomenal 94 per cent score on Metacritic, making it among a handful of the best games of all time. And when you add to that all the other top titles available to play right now on PS5, such as Horizon Forbidden West, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Returnal, Deathloop, Gran Turismo 7, Stray, FIFA 23, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, and many more, it’sobviousthat there’s plenty of awesome to play to justify the console purchase.
(Image credit: VR4Player.fr)
(Image credit: VR4Player.fr)
PS5 Slim: don’t forget about this
The new console we’rehearing more about rightnow from Sony is, actually, a PS5 Slim. The PS4 Slim released just under three years after the PS4, so a PS5 Slim following the same release schedule should arrive in September 2023, if anythingbeforeany PS5 Pro hits store shelves. And, well, this might actually be the console you should wait for, here are some reasons why.
It’ll offer all the PS5’s power in a smaller and more stylish and efficient design, as well as likely being quieter in operation, too.
It’s rumored to come in a modelwithout an optical disc drive, pointing toward a lower cost provided you’re happy to go all-digital, at least initially.
PS5 Slim would be able to play all PS5 games and power the PSVR 2 as well, making it a total replacement for the original PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition in one go.
Want to know what the PS5 Slim could look like? Then check out the video below to get our best look yet.
So, there you go. I think there are plenty of reasons to buy a PS5 now, as well as to wait for both the PS5 Pro and PS5 Slim. Much of the factoring will depend on your budget, desire to buy a PSVR 2 at launch, and ability to forgo what will likely be another year of PS5 games before bagging a console.
Can’t wait? Well, today’s best prices on PS5 can be viewed below.
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