Rumor: PS5 With Detachable Disc Drive 'Works Flawlessly' - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 13 December 2022 / 4,355 Views
There was a rumor in September of this year that the PlayStation 5 will be getting an overhaul with a new model set to launch around September 2023. The New PS5 will replace the current iterations and will have nearly identical hardware to the current consoles on the market.
The biggest difference according to that report is the new PS5 will have a detachable disc drive. The detachable disc drive will be connected to the PlayStation using an extra USB-C port on the back of the console.
Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson is now reporting he has heard from two sources who have access to test kits of this rumored new PS5 with a detachable disc drive and they claim it "works flawlessly."
As always this should be treated with a grain of salt and as a rumor until an official announcement is made.
Small update on the PlayStation 5 that has a detachable disc drive - I've heard from two people now that the test kit is in people's hands and it "works flawlessly". We should hear more about it officially soon.https://t.co/2rzlDrjYAb
— Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) December 12, 2022
The original rumor claims Sony will sell the new PlayStation 5 similar to how it does now. With one model including the detachable disc drive, while another will not include it. The detachable disc drive will be available to purchase separately. The detachable disc drive is said to not ruin the look of the PlayStation 5 as it will attach to it without looking like an external drive.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
More Articles
Nice! Honestly, all of the console makers should offer something like this.
If MS offered an external optical drive for the Series S... hell yeah I'd buy one.
Since there are no shortage of people with otherwise working consoles that have had their optical drive fail, this is a good idea on all sorts of levels.
So will the model bundled with the detachable drive still be $499? Or we looking at a pseudo price cut?
Gross
Any chance they are selling the disc drive separately so I can just plug it into my digital PS5?
That is the plan, yes. They will sell models both with and without the detachable drive bundled into the box, as well as sell the drive separately so that those who buy the digital model can buy the drive later if they want.
But will the detachable drive work on the current digital model I think is what he's asking
Not sure on that. I would assume it simply plugs into one of your USB ports and uses the power that goes through USB, but it may have a special port just for the drive that is only on the newer model.
I know it seems like this would be good for existing digital owners, but the design that has been rumored is one that doesnt quite line up with the current digital.
The idea is to pop off the side panel and there would be little notches for the drive to slide onto, and the USB cable would be angled to line up with a USB C port on the new design. Something like this: https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1w4yvRpXXXXc0aXXXq6xXFXXXJ/Reversible-USB-3-1-Type-C-USB-C-Angled-to-90-Degree-Up-Angled-A-Male.jpg. Just disregard the type A in the pic, its the type C they will be using. And then you can pop a new side panel on so the end result looks like a disc based 5.
There is no C port on the back so not sure how they would make it work for existing users. Im sure adapters could be used but as for the way it slots onto the chassis... ??
I'm trying to picture how this will even look lol. The PS5 is already a chungus. If the model stays the same, hopefully the disc drive remains in the same spot as it currently is, but just modular.
What's even the point of doing this? Is it just so people can buy a cheaper digital only version but then later on buy a disc drive if they decide they want to buy physical games afterall? Or is there a problem with the disc drives failing so now consumers can just replace that? Someone who is excited about this please explain why, thanks.
what exactly is the issue? DE is cheaper so obviously is the easier sell for Sony and consumers. Only having to focus on a single SKU will make overall production easier for Sony. Having a disc drive option gives everyone the opportunity to use PS4/ PS5 discs if that is what they wish.
Ultimately, we still need to see this announced with price and format factor to weight the pros and cons. but right now, I don't think there are any issues with having this. If anything, I think this is definitely the way forward for consoles.
I think part of it is just for convenience and to help supply.
Having two skus makes things more difficult for consumers/retailers, especially when one SKU is more popular. I waited about 6 months on getting the PS5 cause I could only find the digital one available, and that's six months Sony could have been getting revenue via psplus or me buying games.
If this had been an option, I likely would have opted for the digital version, and then added the disc drive later. For stores, having one SKU simplifies things. For manufacturing, it works better because you don't have to guess at the relative demand, and every customer can get what they want. It also just streamlines packaging and such.
Honestly just seems like a solid idea to me. I think it's more about reducing costs to Sony than providing a direct benefit to many consumers, but it's at the very least not bad for consumers, so why not.
