Fact 1: It's been a PR disaster
Sony has been having a bit of a nightmare recently. First up was No Man's Sky. While not a commercial failure, (as The Know proved) it has been torn apart on Twitter and Reddit and will probably be filed away in the 2016 flop pile along with games like The Division and Battleborn.
To add to this, Sony has a PlayStation Meeting event organised for 7th September 2016, at which it planned to announce both the PS4 slim and the beefed-up Neo console. Problem is, the slim is already being sold on auction sites in the UK.
Of course, this was big news, (we did a couple of posts on it ourselves including an unboxing video) so naturally news sites and YouTubers started sharing what information they could. Unfortunately, Sony didn't like this. Rather than capitalise on the exposure or adjust their announcement schedule, they went after those talking about it with copyright violations.
Most news sites were unaffected, journalism gets a bit of leeway when it comes to censorship. However, YouTube and even some social media posts didn't fare so well.
Obviously, this didn't go down to well with the general public:
On the plus side for us gamers, that means we already know all about the slim PS4. Here’s what you should know if you’re thinking of buying one.
Fact 2: It really is slimmer
Good news if you’re worried about space, or you just like small things. PS4 Slim is about one quarter slimmer than the original console. It’s also a little bit shorter and narrower.
The two consoles’ dimensions, for comparison, are:
- PS4 ‘fat’: 275mm x 53mm x 305mm
- PS4 Slim: 264mm x 39mm x 288mm
We think the design is pretty smart too, looking like a refined and smoother version of its older brother.
Fact 3: Its controller can be wired and has new lightbar
The DualShock 4 is generally a well-liked controller, but the one that comes with the slim PS4 makes some changes:
- You can connect it to the PS4 (slim or fat) via a USB for a wired connection with less input lag.
- It adds a second lightbar on the front, at the top of the touchpad. We’re not entirely sure why. Possibly to make it more visible or it will interact with PS VR in some way.
Let’s hope the new DS4 also fixes the peeling analogue stick problem too.
Fact 4: It has no optical audio connector
The TOSLINK optical audio-out jack on the original PS4 is gone from the new slim model.
Sony may be correct in thinking not many people use it. But if you rely on optical to send audio from your PS4 to your hi-fi receiver, the new slim version might not be for you.
Fact 5: It's not 4K
When Microsoft released the Xbox One S, the slim version of the original Xbox One, it came out swinging. 4K support, 2TB options, HDR and a seriously cool new controller; it's no wonder it sold out fast.
Unfortunately, the PS4 slim is just that, slim. While rumours suggest that this new PS4 will support 5GHz Wi-Fi, in a post-Xbox One S world people will be expecting a lot more technically from Sony, and we expect many to be disappointed.
Bonus Fact: It’s just called PS4, not ‘PS4 Slim’
Even though everyone will refer to this new model as ‘PS4 Slim’, the box just says ‘PS4’. That strongly suggests this new revision will replace the original as the only PS4 version available.
So if you’d rather have an original ‘fat’ PS4, you might want to buy soon.
How much will it cost?
Currently, little is known as to how much Sony will price the PS4 slim. However, common sense says that as this console is not an upgrade, it needs to meet the price of the current PS4, which is around the £250 mark for a 500GB. Whether that means we will see a price reduction for the current PlayStation 4 as Sony looks to phase them out remains to be seen.
What do you think of the slim? Would you fork out to replace your existing model, is it tempting you to get your first PS4, or are you total unimpressed? Tweet us at @consoledeals or leave a comment!
