Sony Announces PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro Release Dates

Sony has announced the release date of its highly touted PS4 Slim, much to the delight of gamers. The slimmed-down upgrade of the PS4 will be available on September 15 for $299.

The console is largely identical to its predecessor except, as its name suggests, that it is considerably smaller and sleeker. The PS4 also features a slightly modified DualShock 4 controller with a redesigned light bar, according to The Verge.

Sony has praised the PS4 for its significantly reduced design that does not sacrifice power and performance. “Our engineering and design teams collaborated to consolidate PS4’s high-performance technology into a smaller, more energy efficient form factor. When comparing the new PS4 model to the current model, we’ve reduced volume by 30 percent, weight by 16 percent, and power consumption by 28 percent,” according to Andrew House, President and Global CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment.

The PS4 Pro will be available commercially on November 10, 2016 for $400. The biggest addition the PS4 Pro brings is its 4K graphics capabilities, smoother frame rates, and HDR. Rather than creating an entirely new line of PS4 Pro-focused games, Sony has opted to seed patches to update games and make them compatible with the newer consoles.

This announcement follows closely on the heels of archrival Microsoft’s announcement of its Xbox One S, a slimmed down version of its flagship console.