The PlayStation 4 “Slim” was officially unveiled at Sony’s “PlayStation Meeting” event today, but it won’t actually be receiving a new name. Instead, it’s simply the PlayStation 4, and it will be the standard system sold going forward.
The system will be available in most markets on September 15 for $299, roughly the same price as the current standard PlayStation 4. The console had all but been revealed already, however. In the last few weeks, we’ve not only seen numerous images of the devices — showing off its slimmer design, rounded edges, and physical buttons — but also videos showing it turning on and loading up the home screen.
Sony did not mention the rumored DualShock 4 controller redesign, however. Images and videos have shown slightly different coloring and the addition of a light bar on the front of the controller, believed to replace the light bar that had previously been on the top of the console itself. The new controller is also capable of wired play if it’s charging through the console, much to the delight of fighting game fans.
A recent teardown video also showed, showing off a relatively small fan inside, but a large number of vents to keep the console from overheating — the power supply is still located inside the system, just like with this year’s Xbox One S. Removing the hard drive, though never a terribly difficult endeavor, is now even easier. Just removing one screw and a single plastic clamp is all you need to do to switch it out for the laptop drive of your choosing.
The newly-redesigned PlayStation 4 will stand alongside Sony’s other, more powerful game console, the PlayStation 4 Pro. As with the Xbox One S, it will appear support HDR; the feature is also coming to its big sibling, but will be available to both the new and old models of PlayStation 4 via an update.
