Microsoft believes Sony will launch a PlayStation 5 Slim later this yr priced $399.99, in keeping with a court docket doc.
The doc was launched as a part of the Federal Trade Commission vs Microsoft trial to find out the destiny of a proposed preliminary injunction towards the $69 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard.
In a paragraph on value, Microsoft makes an attempt to persuade Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley the Nintendo Switch ought to be thought of in the identical market because the Xbox Series consoles and the PlayStation 5, an argument it believes boosts the picture of Xbox as dropping the console warfare in third place.
It’s the ultimate sentence on this paragraph that’s positive to ruffle Sony boss Jim Ryan’s feathers, because it not solely outs the long-rumoured existence of a PlayStation 5 Slim, however its value too. IGN has requested Sony for remark.
“PlayStation likewise sells a cheaper Digital Edition for $399.99, and is predicted to launch a PlayStation 5 Slim later this yr on the similar lowered value level,” reads the doc.
The bombshells proceed, with Microsoft saying additional down “Sony can be anticipated to launch a handheld model of PlayStation 5 later this yr for underneath $300”. This is in relation to Sony’s introduced Project Q, a handheld sport streaming system that wirelessly connects to the PS5. Sony has but to announce a launch date or value.
The existence of a PS5 Slim wouldn’t come as a lot of a shock, given Sony has launched slim variations of its earlier consoles. It launched a PlayStation 4 Slim that changed the usual PS4 mannequin in 2016, in addition to a beefier PS4 Pro that launched shortly after. PS5 launched November 2020 in two varieties: with a disc drive for $499, and with out a disc drive for $399.
Microsoft, nevertheless, might take a special strategy. In June, Xbox boss Phil Spencer stated he “would not really feel an crucial” to launch a mid-cycle Xbox console improve, three years after the discharge of the Xbox Series X/S consoles.
Microsoft launched the Xbox One S three years after the Xbox One was launched. A extra highly effective console, the Xbox One X, was launched 4 years after the unique Xbox One got here out.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can attain Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
