A month ago, from a very reliable source, we heard that Sony was working on a new PlayStation 5. The information came from Tom Henderson, which is very popular in the game industry. Particularly, he said that the Japanese company was developing a game console with a detachable optical drive.
EXCLUSIVE: Sony is developing a new PlayStation 5 with a detachable disc drive!
Via @InsiderGamingIGhttps://t.co/2rzlDrjqKD
— Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) September 19, 2022
Today, Insider Gaming reported that the new PlayStation 5 game console with a detachable optical drive is expected to start production in April 2023 and go on sale in September 2023.
Also read: Sony PlayStation 5 Pro With Various Additions Is On The Way
Various reports prove that Sony plans to sell 18 million PlayStation 5 consoles in fiscal 2022 and 30.5 million in fiscal 2023. Among them, 12 million will be older PS5s. By the way, Sony will completely discontinue the older PS5 by Christmas 2023.
Sony Interactive has reported that as of June 2022, the Japanese firm shipped over 21.7 million PlayStation 5 consoles. If these production figures are accurate, the company expects a significant ramp-up in the next couple of years as hardware components become more readily available.
Much earlier, we heard that the biggest change in the new PlayStation 5 is that it will be equipped with a detachable optical drive. You will be allowed to connect it to the PlayStation 5 using the extra USB-C port on the back of the game console. The rest of the specs and design elements will remain unchanged.
The new version of the game console will be sold separately or bundled with a removable optical drive. Optical drives can also be purchased separately. Thus, if you already own the console, there is no need to buy it again. As for the price, the source said that the optical drive sold separately will cost $100.
Those aware of the deal prove that although the new detachable disc drive is portable, it will not ruin the console’s aesthetics.