The Importance of Playing with a Removable Disc Drive and USB-C Ports in a Novel PlayStation (Revised)

The current generation of consoles is getting its first redesign, with Sony’s new PlayStation 5 “slim” now finally landing after its October announcement. The revised PS5 may not be all that small, but it does feature a unique detachable disc drive, two front-facing USB-C ports (instead of one USB-C and one USB-A), and expanded internal storage of 1TB. The new PS5 Digital Edition starts at $449.99 (notably, that’s $50 more than the original PS5 Digital Edition costs), while the standard PS5 with the removable disc drive included runs the same $499.99 as the prior larger model it’s replacing.

But the new PS5 at least has a little more going for it than just Sony’s strange design choices — it now has 1TB of built-in storage (up from 825GB on the original) and two front-facing USB-C ports instead of one USB-C and one USB-A. The only other tangible benefit is that the location of the removable disc drive’s eject button means we can finally stop mixing up the power and eject buttons that have looked way too similar since the PS4 days.

Even if you attached the disc drive to your console, setting it up would have to be done with an internet connection. Setting up your console with no internet is not a good idea. If you’re in that situation, you won’t be able to play anything until you connect to the Sony server. There is a warning that your console needs an internet connection to unpair the disc drive, and this raises the question of what will happen if you sell or buy a second-hand drive. I reached out to Sony with a number of questions, and will update the post if I hear back. I don’t believe that the benefits of this system are good, and it may lead to messiness when it comes to preservation in the future.

The new standard PlayStation 5 for late 2023 once again costs $499.99 and includes a disc drive that’s now removable. The PS5 is a bundle that comes with a free digital game, which will be cheaper than the retail price. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Spider-Man 2 can both be bought with the console at retailers such as Best Buy and Target.