The PS5 Slim launch hides some sneaky price increases

thesixthaxis.com:

Sony has revealed the long-rumoured redesign of the PlayStation 5, shrinking the console down to what everyone (except Sony) is going to call the PS5 Slim, and making some ingenious hardware changes to make the optical drive into more of an optional add-on. However, while slimmed down console releases have generally come with price drops in the past, the PS5 Slim actually comes with some sneaky price increases for different regions, configurations and accessories.

For the console itself, the prices in Europe are stayin identical across both the standard edition with disc drive already included and installed, and the digital edition without. It will remain €549.99 / £479.99 for the disc edition and €449.99 / £389.99 for the digital edition – these RRP points have been in-place since the PS5 price hike in late 2022.

If you opt for the digital edition, you’ll be able to pick up a standalone UHD Blu-ray drive upgrade for €119.99 or £99.99, so there is a €20 or £10 difference if you go for the lower-priced version initially, though you’ll get an appropriate face plate included.

The price increases are found in the US and Japan. For the US, the standard edition remains at $499.99, but the digital edition jumps from $399.99 to $449.99 – the optical drive add-on is $79.99 here. Meanwhile in Japan, both versions are jumping up in price, from ¥60,478 to ¥66,980 for the standard edition and from ¥49,478 to ¥59,980 for the digital edition.

While it’s not affecting the MSRP in Europe for the console itself, all regions are affected by a key accessory change between PS5 and PS5 slim: the stand. Included with the original PS5 was a two-way stand that was required for both horizontal stability and to secure the console when stood up