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Sony’s announced something unexpected – here’s what to know
Give your PS5 slim a new lease of life with the new Chroma collection of covers and controllers
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Bored of staring at your plain old PlayStation? Well, you’re in luck. Sony just announced a set of iridescent new “Chroma” console covers for the PlayStation 5 slim, with a set of matching DualSense controllers to complete the look.
Revealed at the annual State of Play event, the new colourways come in pearl, indigo and teal flavours, and use a pearlescent finish to create a shimmering, colour-shifting effect when viewed from different angles. It reminds us of those terrible car paint jobs – or on a more positive note, the delightful sheen of a beetle’s shell.
You can pop your existing PS5 slim covers off to replace them with fresh panels from the new Chroma collection, which cost £54.99 each. The new DualSense controllers are priced at £69.99. The accessories will be available to pre-order from PlayStation Direct and select retailers from 3 October.
Sony’s big reveal of the new PlayStation 5 Pro earlier this month was met with a lukewarm reception from fans who were expecting more for less, but the mid-generation console upgrade is undoubtedly the most powerful games console ever made.
The new hardware features upgraded specs capable of running existing games at max graphics settings without the usual drop in framerate. In their PS5 Pro preview, our tech expert Alex Lee described it as “pure, raw, unfettered power” and “a big step up from the original PS5”.
The PS5 Pro will launch on 7 November for £699.99, with pre-orders opening on 26 September.
Sony’s been on a bit of a design streak of late. To celebrate 30 years of PlayStation, the Japanese tech giant is launching a limited run of PS1-themed PS5 Pro consoles and controllers. The soon-to-be collector’s item is limited to just 12,300 units and comes in the classic grey of the legendary 1994 console, complete with the iconic multicoloured PlayStation logo in the corner.
The matching PS1-themed DualSense controller even gets a replica cable resembling the connector for the original, pre-DualShock pad. Still no word from Sony on whether you’ll be able to play pirated games on it using a biro and a wad of Blu-tac.
If the grey Nineties aesthetic isn’t your style, Sony’s new Chroma collection can liven up your console for less. Pre-orders open from 3 October, but you can always check out the existing range of covers if you fancy giving your PS5 slim a new lease of life.
PS5 slim console covers: From £44.99, Playstation.com
The PS5 slim’s covers can be easily popped off and replaced with fresh colours, or to add the detachable disc drive accessory (£99.99, PlayStation.com) for playing physical games and media.
Late last year, Sony revealed a trio of fresh PS5 colourways for your consideration, called cobalt blue, sterling silver and volcanic red. Lightly metallic, but definitely not as vivid as the new Chroma covers, they each get matching DualSense controllers to complete the look.
Sadly, while you can swap around the console’s panels, you need to buy an entire DualSense controller (£69.99, Playstation.com) if you want one in a new colour. You can never have too many.
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Don’t care for the anniversary edition bundle? Here’s how you can pre-order the PS5 Pro on its own