Not to be left behind, the PS5 Slim gets an early Black Friday price cut as well, down $100 to a very enticing $449.99. For a console that’s almost never cheap at retail, this sustained nearly 20% price drop is the sort of discount that turns fence-sitters into customers—especially considering the improved hardware, bigger hard drive, and extensive game library that comes with Sony’s new revision.
What Makes This Early PS5 Slim Deal Stand Out
Base consoles usually maintain their price throughout the bulk of a generation, pressured to sell bundles rather than just shave off the cost. Which is why this ~$100 price drop is newsworthy. Circana U.S. sales tracking has consistently had the PS5 selling at or near the top of console charts throughout the year, and strong demand often leaves discounts wanting. To witness a substantive discount this early in the holiday cycle often indicates that an aggressive, flash, limited-time promotion is in play—and those sell through quickly, with a capital Q.
The Slim makeover isn’t merely superficial, either. Sony shrunk the size of the console by around 30 percent; it’s lighter in weight and more powerful as well, with 1TB of internal storage—yet still manages to remove all that extra heft while maintaining performance targets. The disc-drive module is replaceable now, which opens up some flexibility for consumers: you could grab the all-digital model and then add a drive later if your library (or intentions) change.
Key Specs and Real-World Performance Overview
Inside, the PS5 Slim shares the same custom AMD CPU/GPU architecture and fast NVMe SSD that could be found in the original model. This storage pipeline—a 5.5 GB/s pipe, as it were—leaves its mark: next to no-wait fast-travel load times, quick reloads, and level loads in seconds rather than the half-minute pauses we’d expect on a base PS4. Independent testing by outlets such as Digital Foundry has demonstrated that marquee titles tend to hop between scenes essentially as fast as you can press the button.
Visually, expect 4K output and high-quality ray tracing in selected games—along with performance modes that will aim at 60 fps or even 120 fps on HDMI 2.1 displays.
Support for Variable Refresh Rate smooths out the peaks and dips, while HDR brings color and contrast to new heights on compatible TVs. Sony’s Tempest 3D AudioTech grants positional detail via headphones or a compatible speaker setup, and the DualSense controller’s haptics and adaptive triggers provide dynamic touch feedback that corresponds to the action—rainfall, engine kickback, draw tension.
The console is also forward-compatible: thousands of PS4 games play on the new machine, with hundreds running better, and the supplied slot for an M.2 SSD means users can inexpensively add multi-terabyte storage themselves.
If you’ve been eyeing PS VR2, the Slim is compatible there too.
What to Watch for in Today’s Top PS5 Games
In fast-action presentations such as the upcoming Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, players will be able to sling across a vibrant cityscape with near-instantaneous fast-travel modes where you play through fun visual effects, or go for beautiful, smooth gameplay at a target of 60 fps.
When Helldivers 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3 rushes are the order of the day, you’ll be glad for fast matchmaking, speedy respawns, swift scene transitions, and smooth frame rates in hectic battles. These aren’t abstract spec-sheet wins—they’re quality-of-life improvements that you’ll notice in every session.
Who Gets the Most Value for Money at $449.99
If you’re transitioning from the PS4, the upgrade is stark: faster load times, smoother frame rates, and a library of growing PS5-first games. Households opting for a second console for co-op play, or PC gamers looking for a living-room device with access to first-party exclusives, are also in the mix. The 1TB drive is more capacious than the original launch capacity, but heavy downloaders should still expect to add an M.2 SSD down the road.
Deals may vary by configuration, so just make sure you are purchasing the disc or digital version you prefer. Collectors of physical media and those who buy used games may prefer the disc model, whereas digital-first players who rely on sales and subscriptions might be more inclined toward a sleeker, drive-free setup. In either case, the performance will be identical.
Shopping Tips Before You Check Out with a PS5 Slim
Be sure to check industry return exceptions and price-match policies, as inventory and prices might change during the weekend. Look out for bundles that include a recent game or an extra DualSense pad at a small premium. That said, if you have a 120 Hz or HDMI 2.1 TV with VRR, turn those features on for the smoothest experience; if not, you’re still set up to appreciate the speed and visual improvements. And if you do plan on adding more SSD storage, search for PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSDs with a heatsink—variants that have been reviewed and tested by known reviewers seem to work well once installed in the PS5 slot.
Bottom Line: Why This PS5 Slim Deal Is Worth It Now
When the PS5 Slim is available with such an unusually high $100 discount, it feels like a no-brainer purchase for anyone considering jumping into current-gen gaming. With strong adoption figures in investor reports from Sony and consistent top-of-the-charts performance on the market tracker Circana, there can be no doubt about which direction the platform is going. If you’ve been waiting for prices to drop, this is that time—before inventory or the best configurations disappear.
