If you’re looking to buy a PS5 console this Black Friday you’ll need to answer one big question first: Which one? There are currently three models of PlayStation 5 available to purchase. These are the PS5 Slim, the PS5 Slim (Digital Edition), and the PS5 Pro. If you’re new to the console market and unsure which is right for you, I’m here to break down the differences and also highlight the best Black Friday deals on PS5 hardware right now.
Before diving into the rundown, I should just note that the launch PS5 console has been discontinued as of late 2023. This very chunky console was once almost impossible to purchase (who could forget the PS5 restock nightmare?) but has since been replaced by the PS5 Slim model. However, you can purchase a refurbished original PS5 for a discounted price of $399 on PlayStation Direct. This is a useful option if you’re on a strict budget.
With that bit of housekeeping out of the way, let’s dive into the PS5 consoles you can buy in 2024, and most importantly, let’s take a look at the best Black Friday PS5 hardware discounts available today.
Quick links
- PS5 Slim: was $499 now $424 @ Amazon | Best Buy | Walmart
- PS5 Slim (Digital): was $449 now $374 @ Amazon | Best Buy | Walmart
- PS5 Pro: $699 @ Amazon | Best Buy | Walmart
Why you should buy a PS5 Slim for Black Friday
Released last November, the PS5 Slim is a refreshed version of the base PS5 console. As the name suggests, it’s a slimmed-down console that packs the same internal components but in a plastic shell that will take up a little less space in your home entertainment center.
As noted in our PS5 Slim review, in many ways it’s the “console we should gotten from the start” with a less chunky build and a slightly larger hard drive (1TB compared to the launch PS5’s 825GB). It’s capable of playing all the best PS5 games and is the current generation console I’d recommend for most people. In short, it offers reliable functionality at a reasonable price.
Speaking of price, the PS5 Slim represented solid value for the money at its list price of $499, but thanks to PlayStation’s massive Black Friday sale, you can score a PS5 console at the discounted price of $424. And you can even get a PS5 Slim Fortnite Cobalt Star Bundle for the same price.
Why you should buy a PS5 Slim (Digital Edition) for Black Friday
The PS5 Slim (Digital Edition) is one of those “does what it says on the tin” products. It’s the same PS5 Slim console listed above only with the disc drive removed. It’s ideal for gamers fully committed to playing and purchasing games digitally.
However, if you opt for a Digital Edition, but later decide you’d like a disc drive to play physical games (or watch 4K Blu-ray movies), Sony has smartly made the PS5 Slim console modular. This means you can pick up a PS5 Disc Drive for $79 and easily slot it onto your Digital Edition console, transforming it into a regular PS5 Slim in just a matter of seconds.
The PS5 Slim (Digital Edition) currently represents the cheapest PlayStation console you can buy. Thanks to the ongoing Black Friday sales, you can score a PS5 Slim (Digital Edition) for $374, which is a nearly 20% saving compared to its full list price of $449. There's also a Fortnite Bundle.
Why you should buy a PS5 Pro for Black Friday
Finally, we have the most powerful PlayStation console ever made, the PS5 Pro. This upgraded version of the regular PS5 plays all the same games (there are no PS5 Pro exclusive games), but boosts the framerates and/or image resolution in select titles. The PS5 Pro is also primed to take advantage of cutting-edge features like ray tracing and PSSR.
In my PS5 Pro review, I was seriously impressed with the console’s ability to boost some of my favorite PS5 games (including The Last of Us Part I and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2), but the eye-watering $699 price tag makes it a console that is hard to recommend for the average player. The PS5 Pro is a beastly machine, but it’s designed for dedicated gamers only.
Unfortunately, Black Friday sales aren’t making the Pro’s hefty price tag any easier to swallow. There are currently no PS5 Pro discounts available. I don’t expect that will change over the coming days either. The Pro is less than a month old (the console only hit store shelves on November 7), so the odds of a seasonal discount just weeks after launch seem fairly remote.
