Sony just made its own PS5 Pro pricing seem even more expensive with the reveal of its new 'Certified Refurbished' PS5s, which are up to $350 cheaper than the upcoming powered-up model.
The PS5 Pro may offer a beefed-up GPU, enhanced ray-tracing, and more, but it comes at a cost, and a big one at that. Without the optional vertical stand and disc drive, which are being sold as add-ons, the Pro model will run US customers $700 when it launches in November. Taking exchange rates into account, it's even more expensive in the UK, Europe, and Japan, with eyebrow-raising £700, €800, and ¥120,000 price tags that don't match up with the US pricing at all, and seem even more eye-watering when compared to these upcoming refurbished models.
Over on the official PlayStation Direct site, Sony now has both Disc and Digital Edition refurbished PS5s listed as 'coming soon' in the US – for now, only the Disc Edition is listed for UK customers. The fine print reveals that these are exclusively CFI-1000 model group consoles – the pre-Slim model versions – so they'll be a bit chunkier than the PS5s you'd find on the shelf if you were buying one brand new these days. Compared to the PS5 Pro or even the current PS5s, though, the price point feels much more generous, at $399.99 for the Disc version (£389.99 in the UK) or $349.99 for the Digital Edition.
In the case of the PS5 Pro, it's definitely more appropriate to compare its price to the Digital Edition of the standard model, since, y'know, they're both lacking that aforementioned disc drive, and with the refurbished version coming in at $350 less, it's hard to ignore the difference in pricing. Sony says that its 'certified refurbished' consoles have to complete a "rigorous recertification process that includes full testing that meets the same functional standards as new PlayStation products," which ultimately means you can expect it to work "like new." Everything is cleaned, and comes with a year's warranty included, even if things "may have minor cosmetic imperfections."
The refurbished route may not be for everyone, especially given that these are older models, but if you've held back on getting one of Sony's new-gen consoles up to this point, this is a much more affordable way to play the best PS5 games without diving headfirst into the $700 version.
If you are interested in Sony's upcoming console, be sure to check out our PS5 Pro pre-order guide.
