Sony may have hit on an ingenious way to persuade stubborn PS4 owners to switch to a PS5: releasing a retro-fabulous console that trades on the nostalgia of the PS1.
That’s what you get with the recently unveiled PS5 30th Anniversary Collection, a set of modern hardware that evokes the mid-90s console (and its accompanying controllers), with the same grey colour scheme and multi-coloured logo.
Judging by the rapturous reception the new-look PS5 Pro received online, the collection can make even the biggest naysayers consider dropping a chunk of their monthly salary on the upcoming console.
However, they may be hard-pressed to snag one as only 12,300 units are going on sale.
In order to maintain the hype around the upcoming collection, Sony refrained from divulging its price, despite revealing it so close to its pre-order date of Thursday, September 26.
With the launch fast approaching, a well-known leaker has taken a stab at guessing how much some of the hardware could cost – and it’s good news for PlayStation fans.
These are the prices that have been mentioned:
- The PS5 Slim (Digital Edition) console bundle – $499.99 USD (£449.99)
- DualSense 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Wireless Controller – $79.99 USD (£69.99)
The details come from the reliable data miner and leaker billbil-kun (via Dealabs), who has only guesstimated the prices for the regular console and gamepad, not the PS5 Pro or DualSense Edge controller.
There’s a bit of confusion over the authenticity of the info, so we’d treat it with a dash of skepticism for now.
Although the leaker typically gets his insights from the backend of website stores, making it pretty reliable, the blog post (in French) is phrased in a way that suggests they are speculating about the prices.
Me buying the PS5 pro 30th anniversary and the dual sense edge after complaining about the price pic.twitter.com/6066oochWP
— Sebastian (@ItsNewYokio) September 19, 2024
Still, the good news is that both the anniversary edition slim console and DualSense aren’t priced much higher than the regular versions, which cost £390 and £65, respectively.
Seeing as the forthcoming PS5 Pro costs £700, you can expect to pay a tad more for the anniversary edition, especially as it comes bundled with the £200 DualSense Edge controller (also available separately). At least Sony will put us out of our collective suspense very soon.
The Japanese firm is banking on the nostalgic collection and the PS5 Pro to convince more people to embrace the PlayStation 5. Notably, nearly half of PlayStation’s total user base are still on PS4, with approximately 49 million out of 118 million users opting for the older console.
This despite the fact that the PS5 is now four years old and reaching the latter stages of its lifecycle, per Sony.
The lack of urgency to upgrade is down to several factors. Some of the most enduringly popular games like Fortnite, Minecraft, GTA 5, and Call of Duty remain playable on the PS4. The PS5’s high price tag also doesn’t help, along with the fact that many new titles were also released on both systems.
