Not Solely Is the New PlayStation 5 Extra Costly, It’s Additionally Worse

5 years into the console’s life cycle, the newest PlayStation 5 is more expensive than ever. If that wasn’t sufficient, Sony is now providing clients much less bang for his or her buck than if that they had purchased the {hardware} only a few months in the past. The model of the PlayStation 5 with no disc drive prices $500 and has far much less inside storage than earlier than. It’s such an enormous downgrade; you’re higher off attempting to find an older or used console for those who hoped to play Ghost of Yotei earlier than the top of the 12 months.

Earlier this month, Sony started shipping a 500-euro model of the slim PS5 with much less storage—825GB—than the earlier slim model’s 1TB to Europe. With the usual storage necessities for the system’s working system, meaning the brand new system solely has 667GB so that you can obtain your video games to. It didn’t take lengthy for that model to make its strategy to the U.S. The PlayStation Direct on-line retailer now sells the $500 “PlayStation 5 Digital Version Console – 825GB.” It’s the identical quantity that shipped with the unique PS5 in 2020. The PlayStation 5 with a disc drive nonetheless comes with 1TB of storage and calls for $550 out of your pockets. The PlayStation 5 Pro comes with 2TB of storage however now prices $750 after the current value hikes.

New PlayStation 5 Mannequin Adjustments:

-Mannequin CFI-2116

-825 GB, Much less Storage, 667.2 GB Useable Identical As Launch PS5

-All Matte Console

-USB Colors On The Again Now Blue

-2,433 Grams In contrast To The two,556 Grams Of The 2000 Mannequin, 3,800 Grams Of Launch PS5

-Heatsink Construction Has… https://t.co/Natbq8NiUm pic.twitter.com/OLhKthpOTA

— @Zuby_Tech (@Zuby_Tech) September 29, 2025

Gizmodo reached out to Sony for touch upon the swap to the older storage choice, however we didn’t instantly hear again. Anyone who has tried to wrangle a number of digital video games on their system is aware of how briskly 667GB of storage will get eaten up by storage-hungry video games. Much less storage solely means gamers might want to exit and spend much more cash on new SSD upgrades they should set up themselves. (Admittedly, that’s a very simple course of.)

This isn’t how issues are purported to unfurl. Gaming and computing {hardware} usually cheapens over time. Within the case of Sony’s gaming model, consoles additionally enhance over time. {Hardware} aficionados have made a recreation of opening up new PlayStation 5 consoles through the years to see how Sony has minimized excesses and improved thermals. For instance, the CFI-12XX version of the non-slim PS5 from 2022 was considerably lighter than the 2020 version. It sports activities a brand new heatsink and lighter cooling followers to assist cut back weight. The most recent model clocks in at 2,433g, or about 5.3 kilos. That’s round 100g lighter than earlier than. Sony didn’t contact the SoC, or system on a chip. It’s getting the identical energy draw as earlier than and might be virtually equal in efficiency in comparison with earlier editions. The one beauty change is the black plastic between the 2 white plates is matte as an alternative of shiny.

This can be a dangerous time to try to get into gaming. Final month, Xbox hiked prices for its Xbox Sequence S and X consoles for the second time in a 12 months. Now, a brand-new Sequence X with a disc drive prices $650. The digital-only model asks for $600, however a minimum of it comes with the complete 1TB of storage. Final week, Xbox raised the price of its Sport Cross Final subscription to $30 a month, or $360 a 12 months. Whereas Netflix and different streaming companies have trained consumers to anticipate subscriptions to get dearer and worse with time, Sony is setting us as much as anticipate the identical with {hardware}.