Introducing the PS5 Pro Gray for the 30th Anniversary of PlayStation
The Original PlayStation console was released in North America in September 1995. Since then, we have moved away from the era of gray consoles in favor of sleek black designs like the PlayStation 4, or the quirky whale fin-shaped designs of the PlayStation 5. Add in a coat of gray paint, throw on a classic RGBY PlayStation logo, and I’m already wondering why Sony isn’t selling the new model as the base option.
Sony unveiled their revised 30th Anniversary PlayStation Collection on Thursday. This is to commemorate the original PlayStation console, which was first released to the Japanese public in December 1994. There is a version for the PS4, as well as a revised PS5 bundle. There are some additional accessories sold separately, such as a gray DualSense controller and a PS5 console with the classic logo and colorful symbol face buttons. There is even a special USB-C cable designed to resemble the port of the original PS1 controller.
It may be nostalgia bait, but at least it’s the good kind. Sony even printed classic miniature button shapes along the grips of the Portal and on the central touchpad button of the DualSense Edge. The gray PS5 Pro comes with a vertical stand, a special edition controller, a limited DualSense Edge controller, and a DualSense charging station. You will still need to purchase the PS5 console separately. It is also likely to be a paradise for resellers, as there will only be 12,300 units of the PS5 Pro bundle available at launch.
The entire 30th Anniversary collection will be available for pre-order on September 26 through PlayStation Direct for anyone in the US or North America.
Sony tried the same trick with pink glasses with the 20th Anniversary edition of the PS4 in 2017. However, the Pro bundle comes with many more accessories to make it even more appealing. Notably, the company did not offer pricing details. Gizmodo reached out to Sony for more information, and we will update this post when we have news. We expect the Pro bundle to cost several hundred dollars more than the $700 base price of the PS5 Pro, considering all the additional accessories.
Console gaming has never been cheap. The original PlayStation console cost $300 when it was released in 1995. In today’s dollars, that adjusts to $616. The beloved PlayStation 2 had the same price at launch but cost $542 adjusted for inflation. Of course, everyone remembers the “$599 US dollars” scandal that was the PlayStation 3 announcement at E3 2005. If you look at the same price today, $600 has the same purchasing power as around $940.
This does not diminish the exorbitant price of the PS5 Pro, especially since there is no option for a disc drive in the box. If the bundle approaches $1,000, you are already in the territory of a high-end gaming PC.
