It was a bit of a surprise. As part of the CES 2024 press conference, Sony unveiled new console designs for the Playstation 5 Slim without a special mention. A total of three designs were on display alongside the regular consoles.
The console designs are called Volcanic Red, Sterling Silver and Cobalt Blue and appear somewhat metallic in their color scheme. In each case, a matching dual-sense controller was on display.
No further information about the console designs was available. This was somewhat reminiscent of the CES of the previous year, where Sony presented Project Leonardo, a barrier-free controller, but also without much additional information. The controller has been available in stores as an Access controller for a few weeks now.
When and in which markets the consoles will arrive is currently unclear.
It is also interesting to note that all consoles were only shown as a disc version, i.e. equipped with a Blu-ray drive. There was no digital-only model on show. However, this would be difficult for Sony to implement. After all, an optical drive can be simply retrofitted.
But Sony's white optical drive would be a strong contrast next to all three designs. Sony would have to stock the drive in a total of four colors so that every owner of a digital edition of the Playstation 5 has an upgrade option. However, this is unlikely to be worthwhile.
The regular Playstation 5 Slim has been available for a few weeks now. During the Christmas business, retailers sold off old consoles in particular at heavily discounted prices. Since then, prices have returned to a high level.