Category: IGN

Auto Added by WPeMatico

Last Chance on This Refurb Xbox Series X for Just $399 During Prime Day

Prime Day 2 ends today, which means this is your last opportunity to secure this refurbished Xbox Series X gaming console for just $399.99. Amazon appears to have introduced this specific SKU for Prime Day, as there are little to no user reviews associated with it. The product is both shipped and sold by Amazon, and one of the product images displays official recertified Xbox packaging.

This is a Microsoft Certified Refurbished console, which would entail a 90-day Xbox warranty. This means you can expect it to look and function nearly like new. In case the product doesn’t meet your expectations, it’s reassuring to know that Amazon provides a 30-day return policy.

Xbox Series X (Refurb) for Just $399.99

The Xbox Series X is a current generation system able to drive 4K games at up to a glorious 120fps. It is technically a more powerful system than the PS5 and games that are compatible with both consoles usually perform better on the Xbox console. Compared to the $300 Xbox Series S, the X features more powerful hardware to enable it to run games in 4K (the Xbox Series S runs games at 1440p).

The Xbox Series X also has a disc drive that can play 4K Blu-ray movies and physical game media. It is also equipped with a 1TB SSD. The capacity can be increased with either the Seagate or WD expansion cards, which happen to be on sale for $124.99 and $129.99 respectively for the 1TB sizes for Prime Day.

The Best PS5 SSD Deals (October 2023): 2TB SSD with Preinstalled Heatsink for Under $100

2023 is finally the year where 2TB PS5 SSD upgrades are actually worth the price. Last year, prices for 1TB PS5 SSDs averaged around $150, whereas 2TB SSDs hovered closer to $300. This year, we’re seeing 1TB SSDs trickle below the $70 price point and 2TB SSDs can drop to $100 or lower (like the Silicon Power 2TB SSD w/Heatsink for $89.97). Note that you can’t use any old SSD and expect it to perform well on the PS5 console. You’ll want to pick up a PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 solid-state drive with at least a 5,500MB/s read speed to match the PS5’s internal drive.

TL;DR – The Best PS5 SSD Deals Right Now

Note that Sony recommends a heatsink attached to your SSD and not all SSDs listed here have pre-installed heatsinks. For the ones that do, we’ll be sure to mention it. For the ones that don’t, all you have to do is purchase your own heatsink (like this one for $9) and install it yourself. For our top recommended picks for 2023, check out our full breakdown for the Best PS5 SSDs.

Silicon Power 2TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink for $89.97

The Silicon Power XS70 SSD with a preinstalled robust aluminum heatsink costs under $100. The aluminum heatsink is still slim enough to fit in the PS5 without obstruction. It boasts transfer speeds of up to 7300MB/s read and 6800MB/s write, comfortably faster than the 5500MB/s minimum recommended requirement. It actually performs a little better than the Crucial P5 Plus, the original WD Black SN850, and the Samsung 980 Pro, although that won’t make a difference in your PS5.

Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PS5 SSD for $97.99

Today, you can get the Crucial P5 Plus 2TB solid state drive (SSD) for $97.99. It’s also PS5 compatible. The Crucial P5 Plus does not come with a preinstalled heatsink, so you’ll have to get your own. Something like this $8.99 heatsink is more than adequate for the job and it’s very easy to install as well.

Nextorage 2TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink for $99.99

There’s an interesting story behind this drive. Nextorage was actually originally created by Sony as an SSD division catered to the PS5 console. For whatever reason, Sony decided to ditch that idea and sold this business to another stakeholder in the company, Phison (they make memory controllers found in SSDs from Seagate, Corsair, and Sabrent, and more). Phison eventually accomplished the goal of releasing an SSD catered specifically for the PS5 console in the form of this product right here.

WD Black SN850X 2TB PS5 SSD for $118.00

Today, Amazon is offering a 2TB WD Black SN850X PCIe M.2 NVMe SSD for $118. The SN850X is the latest generation of WD’s flagship Black series M.2 SSDs. It’s easily one of the fastest SSDs on the market and other similar performing SSDs currently sell for about $150. The SN850X’s upgrades over the SN850 include newer flash chips (BiCS5 vs BiCS4) and an updated firmware, both of which offer improved sequential and random read/write speeds.

Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink $128.99

Corsair is a very well known brand for DIY PC builders. Corsair makes some of the best gaming products on the market, and that includes solid-state memory like RAM and SSDs. The MP600 Pro is Corsair’s fastest M.2 SSD and the “LPX” model is “optimized for PS5” because it includes a rugged preinstalled heatsink that is slim enough to fit in the PS5 bay without any issues. We like this RAM so much, we rated it the best PS5 SSD for 2023.

Adata Premium 2TB M.2 PS5 SSD for $109.99

The Adata Premium SSD boasts transfer speeds of up to 6,100MB/s, which is more than fast enough to surpass the PS5’s recommended minimum speed threshold of 5,500MB/s. Yes, there are faster SSDs out there, but if your intention is to put this in your PS5, then that extra speed is worthless because you’re bottlenecked by the stock PS5 SSD. Better to save that money and put it to better use. It also includes a thin aluminum heatspreader… too thin to be appropriately called a heatsink, but still enough for the PS5 console.

What if the SSD Doesn’t Include a Heatsink?

Sony recommends you install an SSD that has an attached heatsink. If the SSD you purchase doesn’t include one, it’s simple enough to buy one for $9 on Amazon and add it yourself. Most of these heatsinks are just attached using an adhesive like thermal tape.

Budget to Best: PS5 SSDs

There may be other SSD deals out there, but these are the PS5 SSDs we’ve tried ourselves and highly recommend. They also double up as outstanding boot drives for your gaming PC, in case you don’t need additional storage for your PS5 console.

How To Install a New PS5 SSD

It’s extremely easy! Removing the case cover is completely toolless. In fact, the only screw you have to remove is the one that keeps the cover for the SSD bay in place. You don’t even put it back when you’re done. Sony has a quick and easy YouTube video guide.

Blizzard Locks Overwatch 2’s Hotly Anticipated Diablo 4 Skins Behind $40 Bundle, Sparking Backlash

Overwatch 2 developer Blizzard has come under fire for locking eye-catching Diablo 4 skins behind a $40 bundle.

Launched yesterday, the Lilith skin for Moira and the Inarius skin for Pharah are both part of the $39.99 Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle for Season 7.

Lilith and Inarius are main characters from Blizzard’s action role-playing game Diablo 4 — Lilith the demonic mother of Sanctuary and antagonist of the game, Inarius a fallen angel who ostensibly defends humanity.

Both these Diablo 4 skins, which Blizzard leaned on to promote the recently launched Season 7, Rise of Darkness, are exclusively sold through the $39.99 Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle for Season 7. There is no other way to get the skins than forking out real-world money.

It’s worth noting the bundle includes nine items. Here are the contents of the Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle for Season 7:

  • 20 Battle Pass tier skips
  • Premium Battle Pass (Season 7)
  • 2,000 Overwatch Coins
  • Skins: Inarius, Lilith, Pumpkin
  • Highlight Intros: Be Beautiful
  • Sprays: Inarius’ Side, Lilith’s Side

Shocked Overwatch 2 players reacted in anger to the way Blizzard is making these Lilith and Inarius skins available. In a thread on the Overwatch subreddit that’s seen nearly 14,000 upvotes, YayoProtocal accused Blizzard of being “greedy”. “Saw the new Moira and Pharah skin in the trailer and was excited for the first time in a long time,” YayoProtocal said. “Some of the best looking and only skins for them in a long time and it’s of course locked behind a shitty payware bundle. Not even available for premium BP, but the goddamn ultimate that they want money for. I should’ve seen this coming… Way to be greedy and ruin the excitement Blizzard.”

YayoProtocal is but one of many disgruntled Overwatch 2 players who dislike the bundle. “I had premium currency saved up for this and the battle pass,” redditor Mothman405 said. “I’m floored the only way to get it is pay $40.”

“Wow, that’s actually awful. What a joke,” said ConfidentInsecurity. “Lol, that skin [Lilith] was actually going to get me to purchase my first skin from the OW2 store. Not anymore…” said DecisionTypical. “For real, I saw this skin and was so hyped,” Ena_Ems_17 added. “Like you couldn’t have just let us get it as its own separate thing, why do I have to buy a bundle with a skin for a character I hate and never play, just to get another skin?”

Some players have also accused Blizzard of hiking the price of the The Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle relative to previous seasons. “They kept the $40 price tag for the Season 7 Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle without having the additional value of the Invasion Bundle,” redditor captain_awesome18 said.

“The Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle for Season Seven is $40. It was priced at $30 for the first five seasons, but raised it to $40 for Season 6 because of the inclusion of the Invasion bundle. They now kept the same pricing without the additional value of the PvE missions.”

The backlash to the Diablo 4 skins comes amid long-running negativity about Overwatch 2, which is currently the worst user-reviewed game ever on Steam. Fans have hit out at Blizzard on a number of issues, including replacing the premium Overwatch with the free-to-play Overwatch 2, and the controversial decision to cancel Overwatch 2’s long-awaited PvE Hero mode. During a recent financial call, publisher Activision Blizzard admitted Overwatch 2 engagement and player investment was declining.

Overwatch 2 isn’t the only Blizzard game to push players’ buttons when it comes to aggressive monetisation. When Diablo 4 launched, players reacted in horror at its costly microtransactions. World of Warcraft players have also criticised Blizzard for the way it monetises its massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

All the Best Video Game Deals for October Prime Day 2023

We’ve come to the second (and final) day of Amazon’s October Prime Day, or as they’re calling it, Big Deal Days. Whatever you call it, it’s another big sale exclusively for Prime members, dropping prices on all sorts of items. Among those items are video games, consoles, and accessories. So if you’re looking to save some money on all things PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch, we have you covered below. We’ve hand-selected all the best gaming-related deals in the sale.

As this is a Prime-exclusive sale, you’ll need a Prime membership to get most of the discounts. And as luck would have it, you can sign up for a one-week membership for just $1.99 right now. That grants you full access to the sale. Now onto the deals.

Shortcuts

PS5 October Prime Day Deals

PS5 Game Deals

At this time of year, there’s no reason to pay full price for a PS5 game — at least one that’s been out for a while. While the brand-newest AAA games might not be discounted just yet, pretty much anything that came out in the first half of the year is.

PS5 SSD Storage Deals

The one sure thing about video games is that they get bigger over time. The sheer number of bytes modern triple-A games take up is growing faster than the speedy SSD built into the PS5 can keep up with. If you’re rocking a PS5 without additional storage, you almost certainly find yourself juggling games on your hard drive. Add one of these PS5 SSDs to your console to give yourself more leeway when it comes to choosing which game to play.

Free $10 Amazon Gift Card with $100 PlayStation Gift Card

If you prefer buying your games digitally, this is a great deal. Enter code PSN100 when you buy a $100 PlayStation gift card, and you’ll get a free $10 credit for Amazon.

See our list of the best PS5 deals for October Prime Day for more.

Nintendo Switch October Prime Day Deals

Nintendo Switch Game Deals

First-party Nintendo Switch games only go on sale a few times a year. One of those times is during Amazon Prime Day. So if you’ve had your eye on any of the above games, now’s the time to buy. You won’t likely see a deal this good again until Black Friday.

Nintendo Switch Console Deals

Nearly every year for the Switch’s lifespan, Nintendo has trotted this deal out each fall. That’s cool, though, because it’s a good deal. If you could use a new Switch, you might as well pick up the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe bundle, because it gets you a free digital game and three free months of Nintendo Switch Online. Or, if you’re feeling the deep red of the Mario Red edition Switch OLED, that’s a good buy as well.

Nintendo Switch Storage Deals

Owning a Switch almost certainly means you’ll need more storage at some point. Grab a microSD card on sale to boost the number of digital games you can store on your hybrid console.

Nintendo Switch Accessory Deals

You can also save some cash on third-party controllers for Nintendo Switch.

Xbox October Prime Day Deals

Xbox Console Deals

Amazon has a refurbished Xbox Series X on sale for $399.99, a hundred bucks cheaper than the list price for a new one. You can also save some cash on a new Series X bundled with Diablo IV, or on a Series S.

Xbox Game Deals

Some great Xbox Series games are on sale for this October Prime Day — and likely at lower prices than you’ll see other times of year. Pick up whatever’s on your wishlist while it’s on sale.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Deal

Game Pass Ultimate is one of the absolute best deals in gaming. Subscribe directly through Microsoft, and it costs $50.97 for three months. Grab this deal, and you’ll save a cool $10.

Xbox Accessory Deals

While a heap of cheap third-party Xbox controllers are on sale during the Big Deal Days, the first-party ones are really the ones to watch. To that end, you may want to pick up this Elite Series 2 Core Xbox controller while it’s discounted well below MSRP.

Xbox Storage Expansion Deals

One drawback of the Xbox Series X|S (and all the other current-gen consoles, for that matter) is that it doesn’t come with a whole lot of storage, especially considering the size of modern games. Buy one of these bad boys, pop it in, and you can store more games. Nice.

Miscellaneous Video Game Deals

The best mobile game controller is also on sale for October Prime Day. You can get a Backbone One with either a Lightning port or USB-C on sale for $69.99, down from $99.99. It doesn’t ever drop lower than that, so pick this up if you want to stream games to your phone or play Apple Arcade games, or mobile games with physical controls enabled.

For a lot more deals, check out our mega-post of the best October Prime Day deals on all categories of items you may be interested in.

PS5 October Prime Day: This is Your Last Chance to Secure These Amazing PlayStation Deals

October Prime Day is has now entered its second and final day of proceedings. This will be your last chance to secure any of these deals until they inevitably reappear during the Black Friday sales. There are plenty of incredible deals to check out at Amazon before the end of the day, and PlayStation has been particularly lucky with several great headline deals to check out.

You can find great offers on first and third-party PlayStation games, alongside some incredible discounts on PS5-compatible SSDs right now. We’ve collected all the absolute best deals right here, so there’s no need to panic that you might miss out on an absolute humdinger. Just remember that you’ll need to be a Prime member to access most of these deals from October 10-11 – you can get a 30-day free trial here.

TL;DR – Best PS5 Prime Day 2 Deals

$100 PlayStation Digital Voucher + $10 Amazon Gift Card

If you’re in need of a top-up on your PlayStation account, and you’re likely to spend money on Amazon over the next couple of days, this deal is a match made in heaven. Just use code PSN100 at checkout and your Amazon account will be credited with $10 after the purchase has gone through. That’s an easy free $10 off a PS5 game, SSD or more during the October Prime Day sales.

Prime Day: Best PS5 Game Deals

Amazon has come through with some of the best discounts we’ve ever seen on these first-party PS5 games. God of War: Ragnarok for $50, Horizon Forbidden West for $40, The Last of Us Part 1 for $46, and so much more – we’ve certainly been treated to some deals. Here are all the absolute best Prime Big Deal Days offers you can find on PS4 and PS5 games.

Prime Day: Best PS5 SSD Deals

Is a lack of PS5 storage getting you down? Well, fret no longer, we’ve got some great deals to check out over October Prime Day. There are some great offers here on the very best PS5 SSDs available. You can currently score the Samsung 980 Pro SSD for just $50, all you need to do is buy a heatsink alongside and you’re getting one of the best deals ever on PS5 storage.

PlayStation VR 2 Gets a Discount for Prime Day 2

You can currently save just over $40 on a PSVR 2 during the October Prime Day sales. It’s not a massive deal, but it’s certainly a lot better than the $549 MSRP. If you’re interested, we’ve left an easy link just below.

Prime Day: Best Rival PS5 Deals

Other vendors like Walmart and Best Buy are also hosting their own sales alongside Prime Day. If the deals are better than what we’re seeing on Amazon, we’ll add them here. Everyone wants a piece of the Prime Day pie! We’ve already got a couple of good deals as well, such as the $100 Dell voucher included with a PS5, or the PS5 Pulse 3D Headset with a $50 Dell voucher.

What is Prime Big Deal Days/ Prime Day 2?

If you’ve been struggling to Google the latest sale, then don’t worry, you’re in the same boat as the rest of us. Amazon seems to be set on not calling the current event Prime Day 2 (despite it feeling like it is). Instead, the event is called Prime Big Deal Days (or you’ll even find some outlets referring to it as October Prime Day). For simplicity, we’re suggesting just checking our relevant articles listed below, and staying plugged in to our deals coverage on Twitter/X or Deals Discord.

Should I Buy a PS5 During Black Friday or Prime Day 2?

If you are in need of a PS5, there’s no real reason to delay your purchase and you can take advantage of any available sale. If you’re desperate to pick up a console before the likes of Spider-Man 2, go ahead and buy one as they’re now regularly available.

However, it’s worth noting that during sales like Black Friday or Prime Day 2, there may be new unique bundles and promotions for the PS5 that are not offered at any other time of the year.

Sony has already reduced the console’s price by $50 in recent sales, and there are rumors of a slim model priced at around $400, compared to the current disc model at $499. This suggests there will be ample opportunities to score a PS5 at more affordable prices if you’re willing to wait a bit longer for Black Friday 2023 and beyond.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

There’s a Massive Board Game Sale Going on for October Prime Day

Looking to stock up your board game cabinet? Now is a great time to do so, because Amazon has a huge board game sale going on right now during its October Prime Day sale. We’ve highlighted a few of the very best deals and added more at the bottom. Some of these board games are Prime Day favorites (we seem them year after year), but quite a few are very rarely discounted at all.

Ark Nova for $46.06

This is the lowest price we’ve ever seen for Ark Nova. Ark Nova is a recent 2022 release. It has since climbed the ranks and garnered a reputation of being one of the best strategy board games around. The premise of Ark Nova seems simple enough. You are in control of a modern zoo and it’s your job to take care of the animals, take on conservation and research projects, attract and entertain the customers, and basically run the most successful zoo in the game. This is not a game for board game amateurs; there are a lot of mechanics to keep track of and the “medium-heavy” complexity is on par with other ambitious games like Gloomhaven, Terraforming Mars, and Scythe.

Azul for $19.19

Azul is an unusual board game in that it doesn’t involve war or intrigue or anything high-stakes like that. Instead, players in Azul compete to design the most beautiful tiled mosaics they can. You and your opponents claim tiles from a central market and place them on your board. Play wisely, and you’ll hamper your opponent while creating intricate patterns for extra points yourself.

Splendor for $18.97

Economic engine games, where you build an increasingly powerful economy to buy stuff to build it even more, are a popular gaming sub-genre. They don’t come much simpler than this gem about… gem dealing. On your turn you take tokens to pay for gems, and each gem gives you a permanent boost to your token bank. It’s a race to engineer the most efficient economy and grab the best gems. The trouble is, everyone wants the best gems too. So every turn you pump your engine, you risk losing prime resources to other players. Throw in a variety of finicky patrons to please for bonus points and you’ve got an engine that generates as much tension as it does tactics.

Ticket to Ride for $26.99

All aboard! Ticket to Ride isn’t just about trains, but about building the best routes. The longer the route, the more points you earn. It’s a simple game to play, a bit like Rummy. You’re collecting cards of different colors and spending them to place trains on routes that match those colors. Don’t let the tranquil description fool you: your opponents will be cutting you off every chance they get. It’s tough competition to become master the world’s railways. It’s also a ton of fun.

Pandemic for $20.49

Pandemic is an outstanding 2-4 player cooperative board that has you trying to stem a virulent pandemic before it destroys you. It’s an older game (released in 2008) with plenty of spinoffs since then, but Pandemic is still considered by many to be a must-own part of your board game collection.

More Board Games on Sale

Blizzard Reveals Five-Point Plan to Overhaul Diablo 4’s Uniques, Resistances, and More for Season 2

With Diablo IV Season 2 just around the corner, Blizzard’s developers have once again gotten together for a campfire chat to detail some of the major planned changes coming to Season of Blood. They are part of what Blizzard is calling its “five-point strategy” to “focus on addressing player feedback and making systemic improvements.” You can find the full patch notes here.

Designers Adam Jackson and Charles Dunn joined community lead Adam Fletcher to discuss the changes coming to Patch 1.2.0, including updates to the elemental resistances, damage buckets, and elemental resistances. Blizzard also says it will also seek to address feedback around unique items, which have been controversial since Diablo IV released earlier this year.

In particular, Blizzard hopes to make unique items “more exciting and impactful” with completely new stats, updated unique effects, and other improvements. The changes are intended to address what Blizzard considers to be an issue with the items generally not being exciting enough, which is at odds with their extreme rarity.

“Can’t wait to see this whole new crop of uniques. Some classes really needed it,” one user responded on Reddit.

Resistance and damage mechanics are also getting reworked

In addition to uniques, Blizzard is planning major updates to elemental resistances, which the developers will “become a much more important part of a character’s survivability.” The current system uses an “inverse multiplicative” model that will allow players to stack resistances infinitiely but with diminishing returns, meaning you can never get 100 percent resistance to any one element.

The new model will be additive, Blizzard says, but with a base cap of 70 percent. Additionally, armor will now only resist physical damage.

“By utilizing methods such as itemization, the Skill Tree, Elixirs, and the Paragon Board, the more resistance you have against a particular element and the more valuable each percentage is for total effective life,” Blizzard explained in a follow-up release. “For example, going from 60-65 percent Fire Resistance is much more valuable than going from 20-25 percent.”

Fans seem pretty happy with the change, with several comparing it to a similar system in Diablo II.

“I am EXTREMELY happy that they’re making the resistances additive with a cap,” one player wrote. “That was one of the more enjoyable aspects of D2, trying to solve the resistance puzzle with your gear. Looking forward to this!”

Aside from resistances, Blizzard hopes to better balance classes so certain playstyles don’t dramatically outperform others, including capping bonuses for vulnerable, critical, and overpower damage. Other planned updated include a “slew” of class improvements, including increasing the damage of the Barbarian’s Blood Rage skill and increasing the ramp-up speed to the Sorcerer’s Incinerate skill. Blizzard also says it will make it easier to respec characters while offering training dummies to test out damage.

Blizzard has sought to placate Diablo IV’s community since the release of Season 1, which featured heavy class imbalances and other issues. The release sparked a major backlash that sent Blizzard scrambling to address the community’s feedback as quickly as possible. This time around, fans seem a bit happier with the changes.

“Overall, I think this patch is a huge step in the right direction based on player feedback. They get a lot of flack because of how the game launch, but I got my time out of it. I figured the development process had a lot of issues/staff changeup, crunch time, Activison “WE NEED TO MAKE MORE MONEY!!” design and marketing and I have been sticking it out with the team knowing they are listening and knowing it is going to take time to make the game better,” one user wrote. “This patch is a bigger stride in the right direction than I was expecting, so I am very excited to come back on the 17th. I’ve had my fun with D3 Season 29 for the past couple weeks. I’m glad I get time to farm these uniques and stuff.”

Diablo 4 Season 2 is currently slated to release on October 17. Season of Blood will pit players against a vampire lord as part of a new questline, and will also feature a new vampire hunter companion among other changes.

We wrote in our original review, “Diablo IV takes the strategy of refining things the series already did so well rather than giving it a more substantial overhaul, and that careful and reverent path has shaped this massive sequel into one of the most polished ARPGs ever created, which makes slicing through the legions of the damned a hell of a good time.”

You can find our complete guide to Diablo IV right here.

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Sony Confirms PS5 Slim Will Still Support Expandable Storage

In a reassuring nod to gamers’ storage needs, Sony has officially confirmed that its PS5 Slim console will maintain its expandable storage capabilities, ensuring players will still have the option to add extra storage to their console if they desire.

A PlayStation spokesperson told IGN via email that the PS5 Slim that “there are no changes with the new model,” meaning the process of removing the back cover panel of the console and manually installing an additional SSD.

Either way, the PS5 Slim will include more memory than the launch version, sporting 1TB of internal SSD storage instead of the 825GB found on the launch model (which only 667GB was useable). Nevertheless, the PS5 Slim’s continued support of expandable storage figures to be a big plus for those looking to buy the redesign.

With many blockbuster games launching on Sony’s ninth-generation home console featuring hefty file sizes, the option to throw in an M.2 SSD to expand the storage on the system is a nice feature, especially when you consider that last month a software update rolled out, allowing support for up to 8TB of additional SSD storage.

As with the launch model, you can’t just throw any M.2 SSD inside the PS5. Sony has previously said that the M.2 SSD needs to be PCIe Gen4, and while it said the read speeds need to be at minimum 5,500MB/s, several users have tested out that a slower read speed M.2 SSDs will work inside the console.

Sony will release the PS5 Slim sometime next month. For more, check out our piece on how the PS5 Slim compares side-by-side with the launch model and the Xbox Series consoles. If you plan to buy a PS5 anytime soon (Slim or not), check out the best PS5 SSD deals.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

See How the PS5 Slim Compares Side-by-Side With the Launch Version and Xbox

Sony has officially announced that slimmer versions of the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition will be arriving just in time for the holidays, and we’re here to see not only how they compare to the launch PS5s, but also to the Xbox Series X/S.

Using the disc drive and controller as a reference, IGN’s Armando Torres mocked up a rough size comparison between the two consoles, which you can see above.

Sony says the “new PS5 has been reduced in volume by more than 30%, and weight by 18% and 24% compared to previous models.” The original PS5 was 390 mm x 260 mm x 104 mm (15.4 in x 10.2 in x 4.1 in), and the new model will be approximately 358 mm x 96 mm x 216 mm (14.0 in x 3.7 in x 8.5 in).

Meanwhile, the PS5 Digital Edition launch model is 390 mm x 260 mm x 92 mm (15.3 in x 10.2 in x 3.6 in), while the new PS5 Digital Edition will be 358 mm x 80 mm x 216 mm (14.0 in x 3.1 in x 8.5 in).

The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are obviously very different from the old and new PS5s, but we thought we’d compare them so you can see how they’ll all stack up in your home. The Xbox Series X is 152.4 mm x 304.8 mm x 152.4 (6.0 in x 12.0 in x 6.0 in) and the Xbox Series S is 279 mm x 149.8 mm x 66.0 mm (11.0 in x 5.9 in x 2.6 in).

For an accurate idea of how all the consoles compare, we used the site CompareSizes to generate a rough picture of all them all together.

While the new PS5s aren’t any more powerful than the launch models, there are some key differences. First of all, both models now have 1TB of storage, which is up from the 825GB offered in the launch models. Furthermore, Sony is offering the option to add an Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive to the PS5 Digital Edition at any time for $79.99. The new models also have four separate cover panels, with the top two sporting a glossy look and the bottom remaining matte.

It’s also important to note that the new PS5 Digital Edition has gone up in price by $50 when compared to the launch model. So, the new PS5 model with the Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive already installed will be the same price as the original at $499.99 and the new PS5 Digital Edition will now be $449.99 instead $399.99.

Additionally, Sony will be selling a new vertical stand that will be available for $29.99, but it will be including a horizontal stand with both models.

For more from the world of PlayStation, be sure to check out the internet’s reaction to the PS5 redesign and Digital Edition price increase and and the best PS5 deals for October Prime Day.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The Internet Weighs in on the PS5 Redesign, and Plenty Think It Looks No Different Than Before

Nearly three years after releasing its next generation of PlayStation home console hardware, Sony announced today that it is phasing out the original design and launching a redesigned PS5 console next month.

Model redesign aside, the new console (also known as the PS5 Slim) reduces the weight of Sony’s ninth-generation console by 18-24%, depending on which model you get. The redesigned PS5 includes more storage, 1TB instead of 825GB, and an increased price for the Digital Edition.

With the announcement of new gaming hardware, users on X (formerly known as Twitter) have turned to the platform to share their thoughts. Some are excited (especially if they did not already buy a PS5), while others are not mincing words on how they feel about the reveal, including poking fun at the fact that the design of the remodel looks a lot similar to its predecessor.

One person noted that the design makes it look like the new PS5 should get checked out by a doctor.

Others were quick to call out the horizontal stand that was also revealed today, which is sold separately. There were doubts about how exactly the lil guy would work, as well as some jokes about the disproportional look.

I, too, am interested to know if the new stand can prevent the console from tipping.

Others were quick to bemoan the PS5 Digital Edition seeing an increase from $399.99 to $449.99. Some are perplexed at the decision and argue that the increased internal storage does not warrant a $50 price hike.

But my personal favorite reaction is from Blessing Adeoye Jr., who created a new “It Can’t Hurt You” meme.

The new PS5 redesign is out next November. Eventually, it will replace the 2020 model once all the current inventory is sold out.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.