Sony has finally unveiled the slim version of the PS5 console, and though it does indeed have plenty to shout about, I can’t help but feel it’s the console Sony should’ve launched in the first place for one major reason.
The fact that the new PlayStation 5 model is slimmer and lighter is certainly not to be sniffed at. Obviously my circumstances aren’t the same as many given my occupation – but the current generation of consoles are behemoths and take up precious desk space on my home office setup. I’ve heard similar complaints too from friends who have them in their entertainment systems in their living space – sure, they’re cool but they definitely stick out compared to nearly everything else – and I know more than one friend who’s had to otherwise modify shelves or units just to fit them in nicely and them not to stick out like a sore thumb.
But the major issue I have with the new version of the console – or more accurately, with the original – is that Digital Edition. On the face of it, it makes sense – a lot of us are indeed ditching our disk based collections for digital ones, and in this economy no-one was or is begrudging any way to make those console prices cheaper – pushing towards the half-grand mark is a lot of money for people these days, and both of those reasons are why I plumped for the Digital Edition. But it’s baffling that there was no way to add on a disk drive to your Digital Edition PS5 console at a later time until now.
It’s not as if the console doesn’t support USB – it does – and there’s plenty of USB Blu-Ray drives available for PC, but the console itself wasn’t officially compatible with any of them. And there’s plenty of reasons this would’ve been super useful just from the top of my head – those with limited internet connections were essentially forced to pick up the more expensive console. I myself would have been one of those, until very recently as my local area only finally got a fibre connection in 2019. There’s also unreliable internet connections – again, it’s all well and good having your collection in one easy to reach place, but what if your internet goes down for whatever reason? Then you just had a very expensive doorstop, for the most part.
And of course, there’s also catering to those who just love physical editions of games. Whether that be within collectors editions with extra goodies – or who just like to have something to hold when they buy their games. They’re not an unusual market by far – but those who wanted a tangible disk in their collections were forced to pick up the standard edition and literally had no other choice in the matter – and if circumstances changed too. If someone had a Digital console, and wanted a physical one because (for example) maybe a relative had bought them a gift of a game without realising it had to be digital? Yup, they’d have to buy an entirely new console. It didn’t make financial sense.
It’s even more baffling when you consider how hard it was to get a PlayStation console for several years. While we may never know the full ins and outs of the well publicised hardware shortages, it feels like it would’ve been some good foresight to let us get the digital consoles now, and have the option to upgrade to physical later once stock issues had improved? And maybe it would’ve been easier to source a Blu-Ray drive than an entire console?
The PS5 Slim will be with us in November – and while the changes probably aren’t enough to justify chucking out your old model for this new one, at least those buying a PS5 now will get the improvements we probably should’ve had a little while back. It’s not all roses though – anyone who’s already shelled out for those face plates won’t be pleased if they don’t fit on the new console, especially so soon after the recent PS Plus price rises.
