Earlier this month Sony launched the most powerful gaming console on the market, the PlayStation 5 Pro. A few weeks later the company revealed a special limited edition version to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the brand. This collection of hardware includes a number of consoles and accessories decked out in the original PS1 colors and designs. We just received the PlayStation 5 Pro 30th Anniversary Collection and unboxed it in order to show what you'll get for the bundle's steep $1,000 price tag.
The console features the original colored PS logo.
The first thing you'll see in the massive box is the PS5 Pro console itself. It has the same two-tone light and dark gray finish of the original PS1 that we fell in love with back in 1994. It also features a colored PlayStation logo up in the top corner, instead of the absent logo seen on the standard PS5 Pro.
If you purchased the PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary edition then you'll see, hidden inside the fins, a number designating which of the limited 12,300 console units you received. For myself, and I'm assuming the other media outlets who also received the collection, there is no number, instead just the words "30th Anniversary." It also comes with a dark gray vertical stand that is not included in the standard PS5 Pro and sold separately for $30.
There is a 30th Anniversary mark inside the console's fins.
In addition to the console, you'll also get a standard Dual Sense controller. Along with the gray tones, the face buttons retain the four pastel colors from the original PS1 controller. It still uses a standard USB-C cable to charge but with one really fun cosmetic addition: You can slide a plastic cap to the end of the cord that mimics the look of the PS1 controller's large, flat and chunky connector plug. This makes it look like you've plugged a PS1 controller into the front of the PS5 Pro.
A plastic cap mimics the look of a PS1 controller cap.
As well as the anniversary-colored Dual Sense, you get a similarly styled Dual Sense Edge, PlayStation's pro controller. The original launched in early 2023 and since then hasn't gotten nearly as much love when it came to additional fun colors compared to its standard counterpart. As a result, this new PS1-like design is really unique. Like the original Edge, it also comes with a carrying case and all the different analog stick caps, back buttons and so forth, all in the new color scheme.
The Dual Sense Edge has PS1 colors.
Sony also packed a few other smaller accessories in the box, including a charging stand that can hold up to two controllers, which is perfect for this collection (and of course it's gray). There are also four colored cable ties designed to look like the PlayStation controller face buttons, with alternating square, "x," circle and triangle icons in the buttons' hues. For good measure, the collection includes a couple of PS logo stickers and a double-sided poster with the logo, a PS1 and PS5 on it.
Overall, the PlayStation 5 Pro 30th Anniversary Collection is a really nice-looking bundle and will easily make you feel nostalgic. It will also appeal to your collector's instinct, since it's not clear how else to get some of the exclusive extras. It's also a pretty good deal compared to buying all the (non-PS1 colored) components, as the regular and pro controllers alone would cost almost $300, with the addition of the PS5 Pro pushing the total nearly up to the cost of the whole bundle. The 30th Anniversary Collection retails for $1,000 and is available now in extremely limited quantities.