Sony wants to shore up its gaming ecosystem and there is multiple information that has arrived in the last months of the launch of new hardware. On the one hand, the PS5 Pro as a performance improvement of the current PS5 and as a transition to the PS6 and on the other, the return of the Japanese firm to portable consoles with the PlayStation Vita 2. And to close the circle, a PS5 Slim
And there is more. A PlayStation 5 Slim like reduced size variant and higher operating efficiency. Minor changes at the hardware level would not sacrifice performance, but would reduce costs.
None of the above has been confirmed by Sony and at the moment it does not go beyond the rumor phase, although some of the information is quite substantiated. Now we get something more ‘palpable’ that would confirm the revision of the hardware.
It is a patent filed in 2020 by Sony Interactive Entertainment and has been made public this week. shows a type of removable optical drive, a component that has also been previously discussed in connection with updated console variants. As you know, Sony offers customers two variants of the PS5, the more advanced model is equipped with an internal drive compatible with 4K Blu-Ray, while the second one works with digital downloads.
The patent mentions its use for “game machines or personal computers” and refers to an improved design with shock absorbers for “prevent vibration from the base unit from being transferred to the outer casing”. It is also cited as using fewer components.
We will see. The use of optical discs is today very low. And the tendency is to use them even less. In a time of streaming, downloads and consumption of all kinds of content on demand, we don’t know where this patent can fit. It is clear that “something” is moving in Sony and could be a component for that “modular” console that is being talked about and that it would be the PlayStation 5 Slim because a third model would not be logical.
The firm would sell the console without an optical drive to keep costs as low as possible, but would offer the detachable drive for the user who wanted it. Release dates are not known. If rumors of a PS5 Pro and Vita 2 laptop by 2024 are confirmed, the Slim should hit the market sooner. For the next Christmas?
