If you’re looking to pick up a PS5 console sometime soon, but you don’t want to fork out around $500, you’ll be pleased to know that Microsoft is – for some reason – reinforcing rumors that we’re getting a PS5 Slim console later this year. While this is good news for you if you’re someone who wants to play some of the best PS5 exclusives out there at a discount, you’re still going to be paying a lot more than an Xbox Series S – and quite-possibly the same as a PS5 Digital Edition – when it comes to the PlayStation 5 Slim console price.
Yeah, that’s right. It looks like Microsoft thinks that we’re going to get our hands on a PS5 Slim console at some point this year, but you’ll be paying a fair bit more than the $299.99 you would be paying for a brand new Xbox Series S at the moment. In fact, Microsoft, as reported by The Verge, has claimed that “[Sony] is expected to release a PlayStation 5 Slim later this year at the same reduced price point” as the “less expensive Digital Edition for $399.99”.
This small snippet is just one part of the filed documents Microsoft has presented the court as it awaits the ruling in the case between Micrsoft, Activision Blizzard King, and the Federal Trade Commission regarding the Xbox producer’s acquisition of the behemoth games company in a deal worth around $69 billion. So, you feel as though it’s not a claim someone would make lightly.
When you think about the fact that Insider Gaming reported last year that the in-development PS5 Slim console would essentially be a PlayStation 5 console with a detachable disk drive, something the cheaper PlayStation 5 Digital Edition lacks altogether, it really doesn’t make sense that a console with a detachable disk drive is going to be the same price as a console without one.
Now, we know you can’t actually attach an external disk drive to your Digital Edition PS5 console right now, but surely developing an external hard drive that people can purchase in addition to the Digital Edition PS5 console is a better idea than developing an entirely new Slim version of the platform? Well, as logical as we think that is, The Verge actually suggests that this information could suggest that a slimmer PS5 model could be the default version of the console moving forward – presumably replacing the higher-priced $499.99 version of the PlayStation 5 with a smaller PS5 that can be bought with or without a disk drive.
It’s important to note, though, that this might not be accurate – as it’s coming out of Microsoft’s mouth and not Sony’s mouth, who would actually be making the rumored PS5 Slim console. Microsoft has also claimed that “Sony is also anticipated to release a handheld version of [the] PlayStation 5 later this year”. As highlighted by The Verge, this is most-likely in reference to PlayStation’s Project Q device – which is more of a controller with a screen than a handheld PS5. You’re still going to need a PS5 console – and a strong WiFi connection – if you want to take advantage of it.
So, will there be a new PlayStation in 2023? Well, don’t get your hopes up yet, but it could very-well be possible. If you want to know whether you should upgrade from PS4 to PS5 right now, or wait until this rumored PS5 Slim, though? That’s a tougher question. With the ability to play Blu-Ray and 4K disc media, and of course physical copies of games, having a disk drive is invaluable if you’re using this as your main console and home entertainment system.
However, if you’re planning to use this to play one of the best PS5 battle royale games – or perhaps one of the best competitive FPS games available on the platform – then you might be able to get away with not having one. However, if Microsoft is telling the truth, you’re still going to be paying just as much as you would for a PS5 Slim as you would the currently available PS5 Digital Edition. In a worst-case scenario, you can also check out some of the best PS5 SSDs available right now and expand your external storage – even though the PS5 Digital Edition and standard PS5 console offer up more-or-less the same amount.