20 January 2023 , 10:03
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Rumours have surfaced claiming that the detachable disc drive of PS5 Slim won't be compatible with PS5 Digital Edition, and that the hardware won't have any "major changes" over from the original console.
The new PS5 Slim edition has been on the radar for a while now, with rumours and leaks lurking around since last year. It was three years between the release of the PS3 and its Slim edition and the same for PS4 meaning if PS5 follows this pattern we should be expecting the PS5 Slim from Sony sometime this year.
The PS5 slim is rumoured to essentially be a digital edition which has a detachable disc drive that's available for purchase separately. So if you're a PS5 Digital Edition owner looking to switch over to a disc drive console, you can pick up the detachable disc drive rather than spending hundreds of pounds on a brand new console. Or so you thought.
Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson, who has a fairly strong history of when it comes to industry leaks, says that that the PS5 Slim's detachable disc drive may not be compatible with the current PS5 Digital Edition. So if you forked out the digital version to save some cash, but rumours of the Slim have had you pining for an affordable way to return to physical media, you're out of luck. You'll have to buy the OG PS5, or a brand new PS5 Slim and disc drive.
He also stated that the PS5 Slim won't see any "major" hardware upgrades from the original PS5, but this isn't a huge surprise; slim iterations of past consoles have only involved a chassis change. The PS4 and PS4 Slim are practically identical in specifications other than an increased hard drive size. The same is the case for the PS3 and PS3 Slim.
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Let's get physical
The PS5 and Xbox Series X launch were riddled with supply issues thanks to the global semiconductor shortage. It was incredibly difficult to get hold of the hardware, and scalpers swooped in to hoover up stock, reselling the console for at least double the retail price. Stock was limited and purse strings were tight, as we were at the tail end of the first year of the pandemic.
A number of gamers may have settled for the PS5 Digital Edition – either because it's the cheaper of the two, or because that was all that was available in the limited window the console was in stock. So rumours of a PS5 Slim with a detachable disc would have been great news for that contingent, who thought they might be able to grab a standalone disc drive and leave the digital only realm.
While digital media is undeniably taking over the world, there are still benefits to physical discs; lending games to friends, selling games you're done with, buying pre-owned titles for a snip of the price. All of which you can't do with no disc drive. You're reliant on digital store fronts having sales if you want to save any cash, and you can't lend out games at all. And of course, if you still have Blu-ray discs lying around – or dusty old DVDs – you can pop those in.
Of course, these are just unconfirmed rumours for now. We don't know if the PS5 Slim is even officially happening or if it will have a detachable disc drive at all so take all of this information with a pinch of salt.