PlayStation 5: Thread 05

[Neon Ignition]

The Great Second Sony Extortion Era continues to be in effect

Hopefully this now leads to decent offers on the DE PS5, if so those on the fence would be better off aiming to hoover those up before they vanish

[wakka]

How come the disc drive is only $79.99 in US (roughly £65) but the UK have to pay £99.99? That’s a HUGE difference in price. Does the US price not include VAT?

The US doesn't have VAT, they have sales tax which varies by county and state, so is never included in US sticker prices.

With that said in the more expensive states it usually comes out to around 10% combined, so we're still paying more.

[MarioMark]

The US doesn't have VAT, they have sales tax which varies by county and state, so is never included in US sticker prices.

With that said in the more expensive states it usually comes out to around 10% combined, so we're still paying more.

Yeah, in general the pricing is really inconsistent and this might explain why there is such a huge price difference for the blu-ray drive.

• U.S.
  • PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – 499.99 USD
  • PS5 Digital Edition – 449.99 USD

$50/£40 difference between models

• U.K.
  • PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – 479.99 GBP
  • PS5 Digital Edition – 389.99 GBP

$110/£90 difference between models

[nonny]

https://reddit.com/r/playstation/s/H1GjHmMEBX

This is a 3D model comparison so not sure how accurate it is overall but if it is then the smaller size does make a difference.

I think the even more pronounced bulge on the removable disc drive makes that version look a little worse but the slim digital one is rather nice.

[Neon Ignition]

I think, whilst smaller, it's fundamentally incredibly similar so for anyone who despised the existing model it's hard to imagine the slimmer version will win them over. Factoring in the size of the existing model these images will be fairly misleading, the slim will be smaller but in no way small.

I've already seen it being taken as given that the PS5 Pro will be launching next year because this rumour panned out, that it'll arrive and only cost a small bit more than the current version because there's no way Sony would release hardware at a high price


I'd agree it's probably coming, but it'll cost WONGA and I'm pretty secure in the thought that it will be one of the most redundant console SKU's launched

[fishbowlhead]

I think, whilst smaller, it's fundamentally incredibly similar so for anyone who despised the existing model it's hard to imagine the slimmer version will win them over. Factoring in the size of the existing model these images will be fairly misleading, the slim will be smaller but in no way small.

I've already seen it being taken as given that the PS5 Pro will be launching next year because this rumour panned out, that it'll arrive and only cost a small bit more than the current version because there's no way Sony would release hardware at a high price


I'd agree it's probably coming, but it'll cost WONGA and I'm pretty secure in the thought that it will be one of the most redundant console SKU's launched

Year completely redundant says Neon, or, or, it’ll probably sell similar numbers to the PS4 pro and serve the same function, most likely it will have a much bigger power bump than the ps4 pro though.

I’ll be pre-ordering one as soon as it’s announced, Sony can just have a standing order at this stage.

[wakka]

Oh that is substantially smaller. That's pretty cool actually. I didn't realise the difference was that significant.

I think, whilst smaller, it's fundamentally incredibly similar so for anyone who despised the existing model it's hard to imagine the slimmer version will win them over.

Good for them for sticking to their guns IMO. It's a cool, strange, oddly organic shape yet of a piece with their design language from PSVR1 onwards. The Series X looks like a big nothing and the X Slim is like an Alexa. Boring innit. Keep Games Consoles Weird®!

[nonny]

The Pro really needs to be a significant step up or there's little point in it existing... and of course doing that means Sony will charge you top price for it as well.

I always thought the PS4 Pro was a half step in that regard, especially compared to the One X which is still one of the best consoles Xbox has ever made (in my opinion).

I'll have to see one of these slim models up close but I am quite liking how slim that digital model is overall. It might actually sway me to buy one, but we will see.

[fishbowlhead]

The whole machine was designed around cooling and air flow so most likely they will stick to the design philosophy for the entire PS5 life for manufacturing sakes and keeping tools simplified, plus obviously so people can actually recognise it’s a PS5.

I mean we don’t want it mixed up as a “ps5 one abc xy TWO red rgb edition” do we.

[fishbowlhead]

They do need to make the messaging clear though on the packaging.

“PS5 slim”

“Does not include disk drive”.

[Lebowski]

I didn't realize they had reduced the size so much, i thought it was just a new update with a removable cover to add a disk drive.

[Neon Ignition]

Year completely redundant says Neon, or, or, it’ll probably sell similar numbers to the PS4 pro and serve the same function, most likely it will have a much bigger power bump than the ps4 pro though.

I’ll be pre-ordering one as soon as it’s announced, Sony can just have a standing order at this stage.

The thing with the Pro, it was a solid machine but there's not that much to suggest it massively moved the needle for Sony in terms of sales the same as to how XBO wasn't affected by the Xbox One X launching. The consoles appeal to a narrow subsection of gamers and the sheer brand power of PlayStation did more leg work for the Pro than the strengths of the hardware itself did.

Up until recently I wouldn't have been surprised if Sony would have been a little disheartened to find out that they had gone through the costs and trouble of R&D'ing, marketing etc the PS5 Pro just to find out they'd made a system MS wasn't going to end up bothering making themselves. A PS5 Pro even has a harder branding issue than the PS4 Pro did, there's no resolution marketing angle it can sell itself on leaving effectively framerate boosting as the main selling point but with cross generation having endured for so long I'm doubtful that that many care enough yet. That's without considering the price point which will graze miraculous if it's not bare minimum £599.99. By the time it's a bigger issue the PS5 will be at the end of its gen and the Pro still won't be delivering consistent 4K/60fps or the like.

There are definitely core enthusiast gamers who are sensitive to the performance of the current machine but PS5 Pro will be a very low priority for developers in terms of performance, being the sole pro system with a comparatively small userbase and it's pretty much a tipping point for that old argument - to spend that much money on Sony console gaming when framerates and resolution matter to that extent, PC should be much higher on consideration given the cost gap is becoming so narrow.

[Neon Ignition]

Reading that back I should probably clarify that by redundant I more mean as a business decision.

Whilst I do think any benefits PS5 Pro brings to gamers will be narrower in scope than what PS4 Pro did, it's clearly a subjective thing as to what each individual takes away from it and the value they get from it.

But from a Sony perspective, if they go on to sell 140m PS5's - do I think they'd still sell 140m PS5's if the PS5 Pro never released? Absolutely. I suspect that is part of the rationale as to why Microsoft have opted not to bother making a mid-gen pro this generation. Any small boost in sales is probably offset by the costs of developing, making and supporting such a system unless sales exploded beyond what happened last generation but it's very clear from Microsoft (and frankly Sony's) wider decision making that the markets future isn't headed in the direction of high powered, super priced 4 year iteration console releases.

I imagine that's why Microsoft skipped it, they want people to play digitally via services or cloud which goes against Pro systems in terms of investment, especially when the returns for them are hardware figures that would make the Wii U blush. For Sony, PS4 Pro sold reasonably and I imagine the concern of not making one and it turning out MS did meant it always a given. In hindsight, I don't think releasing PS5 Pro will end up being really beneficial to Sony this gen.

[Lebowski]

What i think doesn't help is it doesn't feel like these systems have been out that long or are bedded in properly, The ps3 was Dead and Buried at this point in the ps4's life cycle with support for it drying up very quickly. If either Microsoft or Sony where to release a pro system now i don't think it would be well received by consumers with the current ongoing financial insecurity around the world.

[Asura]

Ugh, I wait for months and it's barely smaller and still looks like some Yugioh Seto Kaiba thing. C'mon Sony... You used to do great industrial design.

As it is, it's still 6.3cm wider than the PS4 Pro; I need to look it that'll fit in the TV unit I use. It's not going on top and I'm not changing units; as a consumer device it needs to conform to my needs.

EDIT: Notably, it's still too wide to fit in the box shelves of an IKEA Kallax unit. Not a problem for me, as I don't keep my consoles in one, but a lot of people do - I remember this being a big topic when the PS5 was announced. Surprised Sony didn't push to shave off 1 more inch to make that possible.