Your speculation on PS5 and Xbox Series X's slim & upgraded variation?

Dear gamers in the Giant Bomb forums

We're in July 2023, and so far, Sony and Microsoft haven't announced their respective current generation console's slim & upgraded variant, so here is my short speculation for both, they may get announced by Q4 2023, capable to run on 8K resolution, games getting patched to have slightly better performance (Graphics and frames per second) and launches 3 years before the launch of PS6 and next Xbox.

8k by xmas, you're living in la la land

I wouldnt be surprised if they released them because capitalism but at the same time most people I know who wanted the consoles have only within the last half a year been able to pick them up. They're JUST now starting to not have games be both last gen/current versions and 2023 is the first year where I consistently feel like I'm getting more "Next Gen" products.

So in my opinion it'd be pretty audacious to even hint at producing something new.

For what it's worth I'm seeing the PS5 already on decent discounts pretty much everywhere and that makes me wonder if these retailers know something we don't. It's a fairly ugly device and Japanese people appreciate neatness so I do think we might see a PS5 slim by the end of this year.

Microsoft has a bigger problem that a third device could confuse a lot of buyers, and what would they even call it? The Xbox Series XS? I'm not sure what their hardware strategy is but I expect them to just keep rolling with what they have.

The rumors/speculation around a PS5 that has a separate disc drive could potentially mean a slim PS5, but Microsoft has so much identity in the design of the Xbox Series X, i doubt there will ever be a slim or smaller version of it, plus they have the Series S.

I doubt either has an upgraded "Pro" console, the existence of those last time around were largely due to alot of the hesitation in the market at the start of the Ps4/Xbox One generation.

the past few years lead me to think the platform holders are going to be much more conservative in the days ahead. i'll be pretty surprised if we hear about new hardware from anyone before jan 2024.

I really hope it's just shareholders stoking whispers in the market in hopes of some kind of new commerce or whatever. I've owned a PS5 for coming on two years now and I'm still mostly playing PS4 games on it, or games that don't seem implausibly PS4-grade (FF16, for all its exclusivity, is about as polar opposite of the visual splendor and variety present in God of War or Horizon which run just fine on PS4 it seems).

Hell, even the sports games didn't showcase a dramatic leap in graphical fidelity the way they did a generation ago, and honestly The Witcher 3's ray tracing upgrade is probably the best looking thing I've played on this system and that game's a decade old. I just can't imagine what the sales pitch would be to someone like me, a very casual player in terms of what I purchase and complete but always listening to gaming podcasts and reading forums anyway.

The way the PS5 has been performing for me after two years, I wouldn't be surprised if it were still in my life 15 years from now, the way the 2008 iMac I'm using to type this message has been on my desk since my senior year of high school. I don't know what more I could want from a console, and the few times they've tried to show me (Ratchet, FF, Last of Us Part I) I just don't feel like I'm having a significantly different experience than the games the generation before. Rift Apart honestly didn't seem that different from the reboot released many years earlier, FF is just another colorless character action game as though it were 2007 again and Last of Us, gorgeous as it was, had less gameplay mechanics than the sequel and wasn't any sort of tremendous leap from Part II.

Again, I really, really hope nobody within the companies themselves is seriously considering this sort of thing because it seems absolutely pointless.

I don't see them doing it. The supply constraints probably pushed any plans back a couple of years. It's not really worth doing unless the manufacturing costs on a slim system make it really, really enticing.

I think Sony coming out with a Pro so soon would be a big mistake by them. I think it will ultimately push more people to just save up and invest in a gaming PC. Which is not a problem for me, because I also own one, but for Sony it will be. People who buy consoles usually don't just have money laying around to get another one a couple of years from now. They see them as a long time investment, and finding out the console they just bought is pretty much useless because a new and improved version is coming out is not a good look. Add to the fact that many Sony exclusives are now going on PC after a year or so, and it makes this even more clear.

I'm not sure, but if Sony does something, it will have to be a size you can travel with. Currently it is very unrealistic to travel with a PS5 for most people. Personally, it is a deal breaker for me. Even PC gaming has better options when it comes to portability, and consoles are supposed to be convenient, but as we stand there is nothing convenient when it comes to the size of a PS5 console.

I would also love an upgrade for PlayStation VR where a cable is not needed. A cable has always been a deal breaker for VR. I heavily supported the first PlayStation VR, even though it was highly inconvenient with all the cables. I did it because it was very innovative, but at this point I will continue to pass until they have something completely wireless, which honestly sounds very unlikely to happen in the years to come.

I do not think we hear anything about a slim version until at least Summer Game Fest 2024 if not The Game Awards 2024. Again, because it's only been the last six months or so that people can just get them when they want them.

We will get new versions of the consoles, but not upgraded hardware. I think of this generation like the PS3/360 generation: iterations on the same concept and higher storage options. In fact, we just got a new model of the Series S with a different color and higher storage. Nintendo is making money hand over fist with their hardware and all they've done in over 6 years is update the screen tech (for more money) and slap some designs on the shell (also for more money).

Sony and Microsoft want to do the same with their consoles. They'll continue to update the internals to use cheaper and cheaper parts (already seen with PS5 cooling revisions), but the performance will remain the same. Inflation and supply chain constraints have already limited the margins on these boxes and putting a whole lot more money into R&D for higher end systems when there is little to no demand for it (from consumers or developers) doesn't make a lot of financial sense.

There is no need for more power anyway. The last generation had a special situation where an upgrade was needed, but unless VR becomes more accessible there won't be any need for more power in many years to come. We just need something more portable, slimmer, and smaller.

@stratogustav: Why? They're bringing out that handheld cloud thingy.

@shindig: never heard, another Vita?

More like a ... erm ... screen and controller combo. Decidedly less than a Vita because it's a device for streaming rather than an actual platform.

I just want a different design for the PS5 in general. That thing is the size of canoe and uglier than sin. I've been thinking about picking one up more often as of late but every time I see one in the wild I cool on the thing instantly. I have a working PS4 Slim to cover that need, and a lot of the interest Sony is getting from me stems from FFXVI and FFVII: More VII not having PC port announcements... yet.

@jeffrud: I ended up buying black dbrands Darkplate 2.0 shells for my PS5 and it definitely helped the look. I’m in the middle of rearranging my tv set up and currently have the console standing vertical on the floor next to the tv stand. Now it looks like a sleek little gaming pc hanging out on the side.

@casse1berry:

I been wanting to do the same for my PS5 as well though it takes up a lot of space on my entertainment center laying down.

For PS5 I care less about when and more abut what more does this do?

Do we just get a refreshed Ryzen APU that runs a bit faster with a few more graphical processing units? Or did we see a bump in other aspects I woudl be most interred to see if they bump up the BUS rate of the internal SSD - faster loading from that drive or even the current speed with a full 1TB f storage might be a nice bump. Keep in mind Sony des not have to follow the 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB sizing - they can put 1. 2 TB of chips in so that the storage compacity of usable storage is a bit over 1 TB. Not sure that is worth the cost or not.

One thing Sony could do to make everyone happy is just allows ANY NVMe SSD to fit and work, that just even further lower the price for the common user to get some extra storage. Most NVMe SSDs in 2024 will be cool enough and small enought, so if they make the bay a bit bigger for larger drives...not that I think anyone needs above 4 TB.