PlayStation has been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. Ever since I could hold a controller, I’ve been playing all sorts of video games. That’s why, as a die-hard PlayStation fan, I’m really disappointed to see the company focusing so much on making money in recent years. I get it, staying afloat in today’s market is tough, but it’s starting to feel like they’re going too far. Let me give you an example.
On October 10th, 2023, PlayStation tweeted this: “Introducing a new look for PlayStation 5. Smaller design with a full-power PS5 experience.” They even included a picture of the sleeker console. But I have to say, the reaction to this post was pretty negative.
Most of the frustration from fans doesn’t come from the design of the new “PS5 Slim.” It’s more about the high prices of the add-on products and the weird pricing for the PS5 Digital Edition models. In my opinion, the things they’re selling separately for this console are a bit ridiculous. For instance, instead of giving you a free vertical stand for your console (which they did at the launch), they’re now selling it for $30 per stand. That’s half the price of an actual usable PS5 controller!
And they’re even selling a disc drive for the digital edition console (which doesn’t come with one) for a whopping $80! To make matters worse, they even misspelled “separately” in that post as “separetly,” making it seem like this announcement was just a cash grab!
Back when the PS5 launched in 2020, the regular model was $500, and the Digital Edition was $400. The $100 price difference made it a great choice for people on a budget because the only difference was the lack of a disc drive. So why on earth have they raised the prices for the Slim versions of the consoles? The basic model’s price hasn’t changed, but the Digital Edition now costs $450. It makes me wonder if these price hikes and the costly add-ons were just meant to cover the expenses of making these slimmer designs.
As I and many other fans around the world have expressed, we’re fed up with PlayStation’s recent actions. No one should have to pay $560 just to have a disc drive and a vertical console stand. This, along with the increased price of the PS Plus membership last month, is the last straw.
It’s time for fans to stand up and keep our favorite company in check – that’s why we’re here.
