PlayStation 5 Slim South African prices and launch date revealed

Sony’s PlayStation 5 Slim gaming console will launch in South Africa in April 2024, priced from R11,999.

The launch date and prices were confirmed to MyBroadband by South African PlayStation distributor Gamefinity.

The R11,999 price tag will be for the digital PS5 Slim, which should be available in the first week of April 2024. It has the same recommended retail price (RRP) as the regular PS5 Digital console.

Unlike the original model, the new digital Slim model supports adding a BluRay disc drive at a later stage via a dedicated slot.

The South African price and availability of this drive remain to be confirmed.

The PS5 Slim with a disc drive (PS5 standard) will be priced at R13,999, also the same as the current RRP for the PS5 standard console.

It will only go on sale three weeks after the digital console, however.

The launch dates are subject to all processes at South African port services being on track, Gamefinity said.

Differences between Slim and original consoles

Unveiled by Sony in October 2023, the Slim consoles boast most of the same internal hardware as their predecessors, so performance is on par.

However, they are 30% smaller, while the standard PS5 weighs 18% less and the Digital Edition 24% less.

In terms of their external designs, the biggest change is the splitting of the two side panels into four separate pieces.

A horizontal gap on either side divides the panels into two sections separated by a black bar.

The two top pieces come with a glossy finish, while the bottom parts have stuck to a matte paint.

Those who are not fond of the white panels are able to buy all-matte black panels separately. Sony is also offering Volcanic Red, Cobalt Blue, and Sterling Silver panels.

Having four panels instead of two allows PS5 owners to assemble a broader range of different-coloured combinations.

One downside of the console is that it no longer comes with a stand that can be adjusted for placing the console in a vertical or horizontal orientation.

Good prices on current console

It should be noted although the PS5 Slim RRPs are the same as the original consoles, we found the latter selling for well below their RRPs from several retailers.

At the time of publication, Kloppers was selling the original digital console for R9,599 with one controller, while Incredible was offering it for R10,499 with two controllers.

The disc drive-equipped model was selling for R12,999 with one controller from Makro and Incredible.