Earlier this week, Sony announced what was already the worst-kept secret of gaming this year: the PlayStation 5 Pro. Much like the PS4 Pro, the PS5 Pro is billed as a more powerful version of the console that is already loved by over 50 million players around the world. The catch? An eye-watering price of $700.

Needless to say, reactions were all over the place. On the one hand, some have defended the price point by viewing it as a luxury-tier product. On the other hand, some have accused Sony of trying to squeeze more money juice out of its most passionate players eager to pay for the most incremental upgrades.

And make no mistake, with its upgraded GPU, advanced ray tracing capacity, and an upscaling solution known as PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), the promise is for the PS5 Pro to deliver sharper and more detailed visuals with faster rendering of shadows and reflections.

But are these enhancements worth seven hundred American dollarinos? That’s a lot of simoleons for a device that could be replaced by the PlayStation 6 in less than five years and nearly enough money to build a mid-range gaming PC. And the PS5 Pro doesn’t even come with a stand or a disc drive!

Well, ignoring the possible taxes that would bump the price of the PS5 up locally, I did the math. Based on current dollar conversions, here are 8 things you can get instead of a PS5 Pro.

8. 4 Nintendo Switch Lites

At around 8500 to 9000 pesos at local retailers, you can pick up this generation’s most successful handheld for you, your partner, your child and your cat. Thrill to a library of bespoke Nintendo experiences and thousands of cool indies made to be enjoyed on the go. Your cat will appreciate being able to play from the litter box.

 7. Two years worth of subscriptions to Prime Video, Disney+ and Netflix…

…with an additional 300 pesos made out to the Big Red N to allow account sharing with your mom and your mother-in-law. Which is exactly what I do. They gave birth to me and my spouse, free Netflix is the least I can offer to pay for.

6. An Xbox Series S and 1 year of Game Pass UItimate

At a local price of 15,995 pesos you still have over 23,000 pesos left, which is enough money for a year with the best subscription service in gaming (even accounting for a recent price hike). That’s a highly portable console the size of a kitten and access to hundreds of video games on your console, PC or even via cloud on your smart TV.

5. A year’s subscription to World of Warcraft for you and three friends

For about 623 dollars, you and your friends can log into the long-running MMORPG, and explore the war-torn lands of Azeroth, Draenor and the planes beyond. And you’ll still have money left over to pick up the Heroic Edition of the latest expansion, The War Within, for yourself.

4. 15 copies of Baldur’s Gate 3

Largely regarded as one of the best games of 2023, you can purchase the acclaimed role-playing game for P2,599 on Steam. And you can purchase it 14 more times as a gift for 14 other people, ensuring you always have someone for a co-op session of the game’s epic campaign. And if not, well you need new friends.

3. One “refurbished” PS5, straight from Sony, and enough money leftover for 4 PS5 games

As part of the PS5 Pro announcement, Sony also revealed the “Certified Refurbished” program, that allows players to pick up a slightly used PS5 that’s been “extensively cleaned, tested and ready for a brand new home.” For 400 American dollarinos, you get the classic unit, slightly loved and can still buy 4 copies of Astro Bot.

2. 38,800 Oneiric Shards in Honkai Star Rail or Genesis Crystals in Genshin Impact

That’s right, if you blow seven hundred dollars on premium currency in one of the Hoyoverse gacha games, you can get over 240 character pulls. For seven hundred dollars, you can potentially Wish or Warp several beautiful anime waifus or husbandos into existence, which is crazy but hey, you do you.

 1. 609 days of food, according to NEDA

The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) says that P64 a day is the minimum amount the average Filipino needs to not be “food poor.” Which means that instead of a PS5 Pro for US$700, you can guarantee 609 days of food security instead!  Why, double your budget and you could be eating like a king for over 300 days!

Will you be getting a PS5 Pro?