It's difficult imagine a large market of current PS5 users that would upgrade to this. The PS4 had actual technical limitations where some newer titles ran poorly. I think there were some other advantages like storage and the PS4 was pretty long in the tooth when the PS4PRO was released. I don't recall it being all that pricey. I think I bought mine for under $400 in that Battlefront2 package.
This feel more like the equilevent of upgrading from a RTX4080 to an RTX4090. Just feels a bit like material flex for a niche market. I mean for $700 you actually could buy a pretty highend videocard that doesn't charge you a monthly subscription to play the games you own.
Or if you're like me and you sell whatever system you have when you get a new one. It would then be like a $300 upgrade or so, which could be worth for someone dedicated to the PlayStation ecosystem, has a swanky TV/monitor, and just wants the best experience for their games.
For as much as we rag on Sony execs, I have to imagine even they understand it's a niche item and unless they have completely lost their minds, planned accordingly. It's a luxury item, basically, so it's expensive.
One thing that makes talking about this stuff confusing is how old-school marketing basically is over. Where is this thing even being advertised- online showcases and streams, which are for games journalists and hardcore obsessives like us? I bet no one in my IRL even knows this thing exists.
