Sony Officially Announces PS5 Slim Launch for the Upcoming Holiday Season
Sony has officially confirmed the much-anticipated PlayStation 5 slim, slated for release this holiday season.
The compact PS5 design now boasts 1TB of storage for both the PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition, an upgrade from the original versions with 825GB. Furthermore, this new model offers the option to include an Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive for the PS5 Digital Edition.
Sid Shuman, Senior Director of SIE Content Communications, expressed that Sony designed this new PS5 "to cater to the evolving needs of players."
"Our engineering and design teams worked together to create a fresh form factor that offers more choice and flexibility," Shuman remarked. "The same technology features that make PS5 the best to play are packed into a smaller form factor, along with an attachable Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive and a 1TB SSD for more internal storage."
The new PS5 models come with the following recommended retail prices, starting their release in November at various participating retailers:
In the U.S.:
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – $499.99
- PS5 Digital Edition – $449.99
In Europe:
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – 549.99 EUR
- PS5 Digital Edition – 449.99 EUR
In the UK:
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – £479.99
- PS5 Digital Edition – £389.99
In Japan:
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – 66,980 JPY (includes tax)
- PS5 Digital Edition – 59,980 JPY (includes tax)
It's essential to note that the price of the PS5 Digital Edition has increased with the introduction of the slim version. The original PS5 Digital Edition was priced at $399.99, while the newer, slimmer PS5 Digital Edition is now priced at $449.99. This means that the slimmer PS5 with a disc drive costs $50 more than the slimmer PS5 Digital Edition.
The new PS5 model includes a horizontal stand, and a separate vertical stand, compatible with all PS5 models, is available for purchase at $29.99 | €29.99 | £24.99 | 3,980 JPY.
Here are the specifications for the new PS5 models:
PlayStation 5 specifications
External dimensions (excluding projecting parts): Approx. 358 × 96 × 216 mm(width × height × depth)
Mass: Approx. 3.2 kg
CPU: x86-64-AMD Ryzen “Zen 2”, 8 Cores / 16 Threads, Variable frequency, up to 3.5 GHz
GPU: AMD Radeon RDNA 2-based graphics engine, Ray Tracing Acceleration, Variable frequency, up to 2.23 GHz (10.3 TFLOPS)
System Memory: GDDR6 16GB, 448GB/s Bandwidth
SSD: 1TB, 5.5GB/s Read Bandwidth (Raw)
PS5 Game Disc: Ultra HD Blu-ray, up to 100GB/disc
BD/DVD drive: Disc Drive portequipped with Disc Drive
Video Out: Support of 4K 120Hz TVs, 8K TVs, VRR (specified by HDMI ver.2.1)
Audio: “Tempest” 3D AudioTech
Input/Output Front of Console: USB Type-C port (Super-Speed USB 10Gbps), USB Type-C port (Hi-Speed USB)
Input/Output Back of Console: USB Type-A port (Super-Speed USB 10Gbps) x2
Networking: Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T)Wi-fi: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax
PlayStation 5 Digital Edition Specifications
External dimensions (excluding projecting parts): Approx. 358 × 80 × 216 mm (width × height × depth)
Mass: Approx. 2.6 kg
CPU: x86-64-AMD Ryzen “Zen 2”, 8 Cores / 16 Threads, Variable frequency, up to 3.5 GHz
GPU: AMD Radeon RDNA 2-based graphics engine, Ray Tracing Acceleration, Variable frequency, up to 2.23 GHz (10.3 TFLOPS)
System Memory: GDDR6 16GB, 448GB/s Bandwidth
SSD: 1TB, 5.5GB/s Read Bandwidth (Raw)
PS5 Game Disc: Ultra HD Blu-ray, up to 100GB/disc
BD/DVD drive: Disc Drive port
Video Out: Support of 4K 120Hz TVs, 8K TVs, VRR (specified by HDMI ver.2.1)
Audio“Tempest” 3D AudioTech
Input/Output Front of Console: USB Type-C port (Super-Speed USB 10Gbps), USB Type-C port (Hi-Speed USB)
Input/Output Back of Console: USB Type-A port (Super-Speed USB 10Gbps) x2
Networking: Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T)Wi-fi: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax
Daniel Ahmad, Director of Research & Insights at Niko Partners, expressed that this development signifies Sony's current strategy for the next generation of gaming. He stated, "If the new Digital Edition gains popularity and we observe a continuous trend of increased digital software sales, it wouldn't be surprising if Sony opts to make the digital + disc drive add-on the default choice for the next generation."
Piers Harding-Rolls, a games industry analyst at Ampere, added his perspective: "Ampere anticipates that the ability to upgrade the new Digital Edition of the PS5 will result in a larger share of total sales for this version compared to the previous one. Ampere's data indicates that, up to the end of June 2023, the Digital Edition constituted only 16% of sell-through. As more gamers embrace the digital edition of the console, it will lead to increased sales of digital games through the PlayStation storefront. This, in turn, will boost Sony's storefront revenue and align with its profit margin objectives."