The lawsuit that pits Microsoft against the FTC and Sony continues its course, and thanks to the documentation presented in it, we were able to find out that the PS5 Slim is not only real, but that it will also arrive before the end. this year and that its price will be $399.99the number that could happen when exchanging in euros and after applying taxes €449.99.

This information has been summarized in one of those documentswhere one could literally read:

“PlayStation also sells a cheaper digital edition priced at $399.99 and is expected to release the PlayStation 5 Slim later this year. for the same reduced price«.

The information comes from Microsoft, so it is quite reliable, although not confirmed by Sony, it is clear that some changes could eventually occur either in the price or the release date. In any case, none of these changes should be particularly big, and everything we’ve just said fits perfectly with the information we’ve seen before.

What can we expect from the PS5 Slim at this price?

If Sony launches the PS5 Slim with a price of 449.99 euros we would have a discount of 100 euros Compared to the regular price of the version with an optical drive. However, if we compare with the introductory price of the said console, the discount would be only 50 euros. In the end, it’s a “win-win” for Sony, which has more room to play with and maximize the profit margin on the Slim model after its decision to raise the price of the PS5.

About a year ago, we published a special about the PS5 Slim, where we told you everything we expect from the said console, and this information is still up to date, ie. it is completely valid. However, there are some details that are worth checking out and explaining a little further, and that’s exactly what I’ll do in this article.

Just as powerful, more efficient

The PS5 Slim will be just as powerful as the standard console, which means we shouldn’t expect any performance improvements or reductions. Generally speaking, the console will be at the same level as the standard PS5, but this model will be more efficient both thermally and in terms of consumption, i.e. it will generate less heat and require less energy to operate.

This reduction in consumption and efficiency will be possible thanks to the APU (CPU and GPU) jump to the TSMC 5nm nodewhich is the same AMD uses in its Zen 4 and Radeon RX 7000 processors. However, on an architectural level, the PS5 Slim will continue to use a Zen 2 CPU and will have the same Radeon GPU with 2,304 shaders as the original console.

Same amount of unified memory, more storage?

There will be no improvement at the architecture level, that’s something we can take for granted, and we won’t even see changes in the configuration of the unified memory, which will remain at 16 GB GDDR6. We could see the changes in the storage unit, not the performance level, but in its total capacity.

The SSD that comes with the PS5 is 825 GB, but of that, about 660 GB remains free, so in the end, the user has a rather limited amount of space to keep his favorite games installed. Sony could take advantage of the launch of the PS5 Slim contains an SSD disk with a total capacity of 1 TB.

Whatever happens, Sony wins with the PS5 Slim

And for a very simple reason. The Japanese company is improving and simplifying the internal construction of its console, which has allowed it to reduce production costs. By cheapening the manufacturing process of the PS5 and increasing its price Sony maximized revenue per unit sold in a way that would have been unthinkable to previous generations.

This has the added benefit that Sony now has more room to maneuver with the price of the PS5 Slim, a console that could cost €449.99, and with that price it would be extremely profitable for the Japanese company. Keep in mind that this version will be cheaper to manufacture than the original PS5 and, thanks to the jump to the 5nm node, won’t need as powerful a cooling system.

Of course, the question remains as to what the rumors that said the PS5 Slim will use a removable optical drive will stick. There’s still nothing definitive along those lines, and the truth is, I pretty much doubt it, but it makes sense because it would allow Sony to to unite its two current versions into one.

Cover image: Concept Creator.