PS5 Slim Digital Edition discounted by $70 in US ahead of Christmas

As the season of wild consumer abandon and deep Black Friday discounts descends upon us, Sony has announced it’s temporarily slashing the price of the PS5 Slim Digital Edition by $70 in the US, although it’s made no indication the offer might be reflected elsewhere in the world.

The discount, revealed at the end of Sony’s new Play Has No Limits commercial, brings the price of the PlayStation 5 Slim Digital Edition down from its usual $449.99 to $379.99 – meaning the console is officially cheaper than its chunkier predecessor for the first time, given the $50 price increase Sony slapped on the Slim Digital Edition when it launched last year.

Sony says the offer – which doesn’t yet appear to be reflected on the PlayStation website – will run until 24th December, or “while stocks last”. So consider that your starting point if you were planning to pick one up in the US during this year’s Black Friday sales. As to whether Sony is planning a similar price reduction in Europe, it hasn’t yet said, but it did recently announce a temporary price cut for the standard PS5 Slim across multiple territories.

Sony’s PS5 Slim Digital Edition discount for the US follows last week’s confirmation the company has seen a drop in console sales, down to 6.2m from the 8.2m sold in the same quarter last year. On the plus side, software sales are up – the marvellous Astro Bot even managed to shift 1.5m copies in its first month – and Sony will also be hoping the recently launched PlayStation 5 Pro helps give its numbers a boost.

And speaking of Sony’s £700 console, Digital Foundry shared its PlayStation 5 Pro verdict last week. “The truth is, the standard PS5 is still the best choice for most people,” Richard Leadbetter wrote, “but for the core enthusiast looking for the best possible experience, the Pro option is there for you, albeit with a substantial premium.”