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What just happened? Sony's decision to charge $700 for the PlayStation 5 Pro has been met with almost universal shock, scorn, and mockery. Making that price look even higher are the refurbished PS5 consoles the company will soon be selling on PlayStation Direct, which cost about $100 less than the brand-new models.
In the wake of the PlayStation 5 Pro reveal, Sony started advertising shop-certified refurbished PS5 consoles on its PlayStation Direct site. The page states that the machines work like new and are extensively cleaned, tested, and come with a 100% quality guaranteed.
Sony says that it uses genuine PlayStation replacement parts, where needed, in these refurbed consoles and includes a one-year limited warranty with purchases. There may be some minor cosmetic imperfections, though, which doesn't really sound as good as new, and you get all "necessary" accessories, such as cables and manuals. The consoles will arrive inside their own branded Certified Refurbished packaging.
The Certified Refurbished PS5 Digital Edition is listed for $349.99, $100 less than a new PS5 Slim Digital Edition. The standard version – the one with the disc drive – is $399, which again is $100 less than the brand new PS5 Slim equivalent. These consoles do appear to be the original versions of the PS5 rather than the newer Slim models.
Both consoles are listed as coming soon, so we don't know when they will be available to buy. The prices seem better than many other refurbished/second hand PS5s – a renewed disc version on Amazon is usually around $449, and there's currently a bundle with Horizon Forbidden West for $469.
PlayStation architect Mark Cerny said during the PlayStation 5 Pro announcement that the new machine, which arrives on November 7, offers up to 45% faster rendering, while ray tracing is two to three times faster. The goal is for players to no longer have to sacrifice image quality for high frame rates.
Trying real hard to see the difference between PS5 and PS5 Pro graphics pic.twitter.com/5dXhFfVj2y
– CelinaðÂÂÂã»ãªã¼ã (@tkn0801) September 10, 2024
But the internet remains far from happy with the PS5 Pro. The graphical improvements in some of the games shown off weren't exactly earth shattering – certainly not worth $700 – and the fact the console lacks a disc drive or even a vertical stand has compounded the anger.