Fan Reactions to PS5 Slim Reveal Puts New Console Under Fire for Lackluster Design

The Gist:

• Sony revealed the upcoming PlayStation 5 Slim, and fans were largely unimpressed with its "new look."
• The PS5 Slim looks almost exactly like the original PS5, which has spawned more than a few funny memes from gamers pointing out the lack of difference.
• The slightly redesigned console will be available starting this November in the U.S. at select local retailers and through the PlayStation online store.

Gamers getting up in arms over the design of consoles isn’t a new phenomenon, and it looks as if the recent reveal of the long-rumored PlayStation 5 Slim is the next industry target.

For some time, gamers have anticipated this reveal, some even making fan creations of how the console would look or theory-crafting about the measurements compared to the original.

These assumptions were largely outlandish when sized up next to the actual design of the PS5 Slim, which honestly doesn’t look all that different from the current PS5.

Aside from the new device being skinnier and a small couple of artistic flourishes, the redesign is a 1:1 comparison. In response, gamers did what they do best: Roast the developer through memes.

On Oct. 10, the official PlayStation page on Twitter introduced the PS5 Slim. While a bit underwhelming on the surface, the console does have a “smaller design” aiming to capture the “full-power PS5 experience.”

In terms of difference from the original model, the PS5 Slim has reduced volume and weight, plus the top portion of it has a glossy look to complement the matte bottom. The PS5 already had an attractive look, so Sony might have voted to stay with a similar design to avoid backlash. If so, that false safety has now put them in boiling water.

“Congratulations, you managed to somehow make it worse and charge more for it,” said one fan on Twitter, another jokingly asking others to tell them “the difference cause [they] don’t see it.”

Comments aside, the memes are the real treasure trove of this whole fiasco. Games journalist Alex Donaldson posted a before and after meme of a shirtless Alex Jones showing his body after days of working out, and there was little difference between the two pictures.

Another poster on Twitter used the iconic meme of multiple Spider-Man pointing at each other, putting different PS5 models on top of their heads.

The upcoming physical disc and digital versions of the PS5 Slim are projected to be released sometime in Nov. 2023. Moreover, these models will start selling at select U.S. retailers and through the PlayStation online store.

According to the Sony announcement blog, once the original PS5 model sells out, the Slim version will be the de facto model for future purchases.