PS5
The long-fabled PS5 slim is real, and will be released this coming November. Eventually, it will replace all current stock of PS5 and become the new standard model.
But despite slimming down with 30% lower volume and 18-24% lower weight, Sony has somehow managed to increase the price of the PS5 digital model, now that you can buy a separate disc drive for the unit.
The current PS5 digital will increase its prices from $400 USD to $450, while the PS5 with the disc drive in place will remain $500. The disc drive can be purchased separately for $80. The idea here is that the optional disc drive is why this is happening, as being able to add one adds more “value” to consumers but keeping the price at $400 would hurt Sony more. But fundamentally it’s…really just a $50 price increase.
Fans are also making fun of the new horizontal “kickstand” to prevent the system from wobbling, which the Xbox, a literal box, does not have to deal with. Less funny is the $30 vertical stand which is being sold separately if you don’t want to risk balancing the PS5 on its own.
Disc drive
The existence of the PS5 Slim, first reported by Insider-Gaming, all but guarantees the other report from that outlet, that a PS5 Pro is definitely planned for the future. The question now is what price will that be if instead of prices going down for the PS5, they’re now going up. $550? $600? It doesn’t seem unreasonable in this age of inflation and…Sony’s market share letting them do really whatever they want.
The new digital model at $450 with the old one remaining at $400 will mean that stock will clear out in short order so Sony can soon make this the only digital version on the market. Between this and the leaked disc-less Xbox mid-gen update, it seems like the next generation of consoles in a few years are almost certainly going to ditch discs entirely. If Sony and Microsoft both agree to it, instead of say, Microsoft going out on a limb to heavily discourage discs in the Xbox One generation, consumers won’t really have a choice but to adapt, anger over the practice aside.
I do wonder if Sony may be starting to overplay their hand a bit. Yes, they are still dominating Xbox in many ways but between price hikes and continuing to sell its exclusives for $70, as opposed to what will start being a flood of new, high profile games on Game Pass, I do wonder if the tide may eventually turn. But that’s a debate for another day.
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