Sony To Launch PlayStation 5 Slim For $399.99 In 2023, Microsoft Claims

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) claims that Sony Group Corp. (NYSE: SONY) is planning to release a PlayStation 5 Slim later this year, priced at $399.99.

The tech giant suggested this in a court document released during the ongoing Federal Trade Commission (FTC) trial over Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ: ATVI).

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"PlayStation likewise sells a less expensive Digital Edition for $399.99, and is expected to release a PlayStation 5 Slim later this year at the same reduced price point," the document says, according to IGN.

By saying this, Microsoft seeks to persuade Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley that Nintendo Switch should be classified within the same market segment as the Xbox Series consoles and the PlayStation 5, thereby implying Xbox is positioned in third place in the ongoing console competition.

The release of a PS5 Slim should come as no shock because Sony has established a pattern of introducing hardware revisions three years after the launch of original consoles, and the PS5 was released in 2020.

It's worth noting that due to chip scarcity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, getting a PS5 was extremely difficult in its early years. The console has become more available very recently, with Sony Interactive Entertainment's CEO Jim Ryan declaring the end of the shortage in January 2023.

It remains to be seen whether Sony will release a remodel of the PS5 when the current model has just become easier to find, but Microsoft clearly thinks so.

The revelations in the FTC trial did not end there, as Microsoft continued to speculate about the release of a handheld version of PlayStation, also referred to as "Project Q."

"Sony is also anticipated to release a handheld version of PlayStation 5 later this year for under $300," wrote the company, which is run by CEO Satya Nadella.

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Photo by Kerde Severin on Unsplash