Former Blizzard boss says the $700 PS5 Pro is really more like a $350 upgrade because it's aimed at people who can trade in their PS5s at "places like GameStop"

Former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra has some thoughts on the newly revealed PS5 Pro's controversial $700 price tag.

Yes, the PS5 Pro is an eye-watering Seven Hundred Buckaroos, and for that substantial price you get a much beefier GPU with the capacity for 45% faster rendering and considerably improved ray tracing. There's also the new PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (or PSSR) tech, which provides AI-powered upscaling for a sharper image via machine learning. For a more detailed analysis, check out our writeup on the PS5 vs. PS5 Pro specs compared.

No matter how you slice it, $700 is a lot of money in the best of times, and even more so in these economically uncertain times. In a tweet, Ybarra said there's a way to "think of this a bit differently," arguing that the updated console is targeted toward "existing users upgrading" and that Sony's model factors in existing trade-in and resale values to lower the barrier to entry.

"The model is: existing PS5 owners can trade in their PS5 at places like GameStop for $350 in credit (today), apply that to the $699 price point, and now the upgrade cost is $350," Ybarra said. "While still not easy, much easier to stomach for some. This is the fundamental model they use. It won't fit for everyone, but it's all part of the larger go to market plan."

It's worth noting that, adjusted for inflation, the PS5 Pro is less expensive than the original PS3 was when it released for $600 in 2006. Other than that one example though, it's the most expensive PlayStation ever, even when adjusted for inflation.

In a response to his original tweet, Ybarra rightly pointed out that "no one has to buy" the new console and offered that, for folks who can afford the luxury, "it's nice to say you have the fastest and most powerful console on the market."

Despite this reading as out of touch as you'd expect from any CEO, it's all technically true. My local GameStop in Phoenix, Arizona is offering "up to" $385 for the vanilla PS5 with the disc drive (eBay listings hover around $350). That means if I traded my PS5 in today for a PS5 Pro I'd pay somewhere around $315 for the upgrade, although Ybarra's analysis ignores the fact that the PS5 Pro doesn't include a disc drive, which is $80 bought separately, or a vertical stand, a $30 purchase.

And of course, the crux of his argument assumes that those trade values will hold and ignores the market segment, no matter how small, that doesn't already have a PS5. It just seems like a lot of words to essentially say, 'yeah it's expensive, but it's less expensive if you have an object of value to offset the cost.'

"For many, existing PS5 is fine and people should be happy," Ybarra concluded. "Kind of like the S, it's fine. Some don't need the X. I get it's hard for developers to support all these different HW capabilities, but it is what it is."

PS5 pre-orders go live on September 26 and the console launches November 7.

PS5 mastermind Mark Cerny says "dreams of the developers" are too big for 60 FPS, and PS5 Pro targets "removing that decision" between fidelity and performance.