I first, I thought this was consolidating the line to a single SKU, and letting you add the drive yourself for a small premium. Instead, this looks like this is a new model with a reworking interior to save a bit on cost, and heat/power.

The one good thing, is that now every PS5 is a "Physical Edition." It is also way more likely in the decades to come you can get a 3rd party drive, and hack it to work. Without the size or soldiering being an issue, it is more likely we can see 3rd party replacements.

VERTICAL STAND SOLD SEPARATELY

That's kinda lame. The original one came with that. They wanna charge you extra for a plastic circle (and maybe the screw)? They're already reducing the amount of plastic needed by reducing the size of the console. Pass that savings onto the customer and give us the fucking plastic circle!

I’m surprised people sound even remotely surprised it’s just a size reduction.

PSOne

PS2 Slim

PS3 Slim

PS3 Super Slim

PS4 Slim

Kinda part of the parcel with Sony at this stage.

Looks like they're trying to make the disc version ugly, so people will go for digital

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I feel like this looks worse than the original model. Sure, it's thinner, but it looks like a 2000s-era AlienWare design.

Not including a vertical stand is an odd choice, as well. I get that console hardware is typically a loss-leader in general, but not including something so basic that only costs $30 just seems like unnecessary nickle-and-diming.

The digital version looks sleek when vertical. Too bad that Sony's choosing to include the horizontal stand in the box instead.

The console clearly wasn't designed for horizontal use.

So only a different form but no upgrades?

might get one if they come out with hackable firmware

The design is still horrendous. I was hoping for a total do over.

Oh, great, and I was just about to buy one soon. Whatever, not worth waiting for these models to become widely available!