People are slowly realizing the PS5 Pro is missing more than one key accessory

Yesterday, Sony announced their PlayStation 5 Pro, which was immediately berated online for its jaw-dropping $700 price tag. However, sometimes, you get upset about something right after it happens and realize over time that you were overreacting. This is not one of those times.

Actually, people realized over the course of the day that the PS5 Pro is even more of a joke than previously thought. Besides the incredibly minimal image fidelity update that the PS5 Pro is championing as its main selling point, netizens were also quick to latch onto the fact that the PS5 Pro is missing a disc drive—something you really think a “pro” model would have. The PS4 Pro had one, after all.

After we had time to get over the disc drive and all the squinting to see the difference in image resolution, we all realized the PS5 Pro is missing something else—one of the most basic accessories a PlayStation can have: the vertical stand.

What the heck, Sony?

IGN’s social media was the first to point out the revelation, retweeting their own tweet of the PS5 Pro’s promotional image and zooming in simply on “the fine print.” The fine print in question? “Vertical Stand sold separately.”

If lacking a disc drive is an insult, then lacking a vertical stand is an outrage. All of the promotional pictures of the PS5 Pro show it standing up! The base PS5 comes with a stand! Why would the $700 USD “professional” version of the PS5 not have the most basic accessory for the system? What, are you going to tell me the PS5 Pro also doesn’t come with the cable to charge my controller?

Sony has not announced how much the Vertical Stand will go for, but the external disc drive is already on sale for a ridiculous $79.99. So if you want to have a PS5 Pro where you can play your physical game collection, watch Blu-Rays, and stand the PS5 Pro up so that it actually looks nice, you’re probably going to be over $800 out.

What reality does Sony think we’re all living in? This comes mere days after a former Sony exec went on the record telling the thousands of people affected by gaming industry-wide layoffs to “go to the beach for a year” or “drive an Uber.” Have you stepped foot in the real people’s economy, my guy? I can barely afford a sandwich.

So no, I will not be buying a PlayStation 5 Pro. And given how widely panned the announcement has been from media and fans alike, I don’t think many people will. Maybe think about the average person’s economic reality before you go charging $80 for a feature that should already be in your overpriced “pro” model, eh?