Cognition Dissemination: I Totally Believe This Is a PS5 “Slim”

Images and videos showing what’s being referred to as the “PlayStation 5 Slim” surfaced online over the last week, both of which appear legitimate. They show a system smaller than the behemoth that’s remained in store shelves and many houses for nearly three years, with only minor design changes. The core console aesthetic is mostly unchanged, a largely-white console with minor curves, ensuring the propped-collar Kaiba Console (or, alternatively, the “you know I had to do it to ‘em” console) memes will live on. They also show, interestingly, that the console will look shinier than the current matte-surfaced version, thus creating a fingerprint magnet.

There’s no confirmation that these are real. But I fully believe they’re legitimate.

The images come after months of rumors that a slimmer console was coming sometime this fall, with Tom Henderson of Insider Gaming being the first to report this. They also follow new rumors from another Twitter/X user who gave light specifications, who mentioned that the updated system wouldn’t be that much smaller than the current PS5 (making the “slim” fan name a tad ironic) and contains a similar level of power consumption. It’s perhaps as slim as Sony can make the console while maintaining its current power level.

This will serve as somewhat of a throwback if these leaks are legitimate, and there’s a good chance they are. The console images reportedly first surfaced on a Chinese message board, from the country where a good deal of manufacturing is being done courtesy of companies with employees working under terrible conditions and paid a pittance. It brings to mind how images of the first PS3 slim’s top first surfaced on a Japanese message board months before it arrived in stores in 2009.

The PlayStation 4’s slim version was leaked not through a message board, but after a person literally got their hands on it. Someone purchased it from auction website Gumtree, and posted images of it on Twitter, which garnered the attention of NeoGAF (once the most influential large message board for video game discussion before it went to hell) and the enthusiast press. A Eurogamer staffer visited the person who purchased it and confirmed its legitimacy. Sony officially announced and released the console during a PlayStation Meeting about two weeks after that leak.

There are always fun stories regarding how slimmer Sony consoles leak, and this PS5 slim one is simply the newest tale to add to the book. (No one is writing that actual book from what I’ve seen, but maybe I should start.) This newest model would also be right on time; the slimmer models for both the PS3 and PS4 released in 2009 and 2016, three years after the original versions launched in 2006 and 2013. It’s tough to believe that this fall will mark three years since the PS5 (and the competing Xbox Series systems) released, partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic warping time perception for many people, but we’re nearly there.

CFI-2016 PS5 Case pic.twitter.com/udFyQbVpz8

— BwE (@BwE_Dev) August 11, 2023

I should reiterate that I believe these PS5 slim pictures and videos are legit, but I understand where anyone skeptical about their authenticity is coming from. It has only recently become easier to purchase a PS5 after the system was in short supply for three straight holiday seasons. The thought of Sony undercutting the long-awaited addressing of the supply chain issues with a new model not even one year afterward sounds ludicrous. There’s also been plenty of fake shit posted on Twitter/X (I will never call it merely “X” — a terrible name) since Elon Musk took over. A mere gander at the ads promoting obvious scam products should show this in action. For someone who claimed he would address the spambot problem on the platform during its acquisition, he’s done the opposite, to little surprise.

But neither of those are good reasons to think the PS5 slim leaks thus far aren’t legitimate. Sony could have found ways to make specific parts within an updated console cheaper and easier to manufacture, ensuring that the company will profit on all versions of the system being sold in the future. This could lead to PS5 consoles being easy enough to assemble and distribute to make sure the supply chain continues to roll in perpetuity. This could also explain why the current model has been discounted at several retailers over the last month, including in territories outside those in which they hiked the price nearly a year ago. Chances are the company has a motive beyond their statement in their last financial report that console sales are, essentially, good, but they could be better.

My top question for this new model is whether it will follow another trend established by prior PlayStation slim variants by coming with a price drop. I wouldn’t be surprised if, say, the “discount” merely results in prices being reduced to pre-inflation levels in territories where Sony increased the price last year. If that’s what pans out, I apologize in advance. Before that, we should see if Sony will announce this thing before it shows up in stores or in someone’s home.