The PlayStation 5 “slim” is barely a couple months old, but Sony is already preparing to release new sideplates for the console. And the company is showing off a trio of those new color options — blue, silver, and red — here at CES 2024. The side covers will start at $54.99 when they go on sale in the near future.
Unlike the standard white PS5 slim, these don’t have the glossy / matte split between the top and bottom plates. I prefer matte all the way, so I’m happy to see that. (There’s no avoiding dust on that black center section of the PS5, unfortunately.)
Sony’s playing it fairly safe with the colors here, but they all looked pretty eye-catching on the show floor. This red is certainly more “red” than the cosmic red accessories for the original PS5. Personally, I think I’m partial to the silver; it evokes some of that original PlayStation nostalgia. Black sideplates are also in the works.
It’s probably just the very bright show floor lighting that’s responsible for this, but when combined with the optional vertical stand, these colors do give off a neat reflection.
The PS5 slim continues to come either with a disc drive or as a digital-only version. But the detachable design of this drive, which can be purchased after the fact and added to the digital model, has no doubt simplified Sony’s manufacturing process and helped to bring costs down. Last month, the company announced that PS5 sales have surpassed 50 million units.
Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge
