Sony has officially announced a new version of the PlayStation 5 that costs noticeably less than the models you know – but there’s a big catch attached. The Midnight Black PS5 Digital Edition was revealed on October 13 and it is coming to Japan only, where it hits shelves on November 19 for 55,000 yen (roughly $349).
What you actually get
It’s a digital-only console, so there’s no disc drive in the box. Underneath the new black shell sit the core PS5 features you’d expect:
- 825GB SSD storage
- Sony’s high-speed SSD architecture
- 3D audio
- PS4 backward compatibility
- DualSense haptic feedback and adaptive triggers
If a Japanese buyer still wants physical games, Sony is launching a matching Midnight Black disc drive on the same day, November 19, for 11,980 yen. Pre-orders for the console are set to open on October 20 through participating Japanese retailers and online stores, and the full announcement went up on PlayStation Japan’s blog.
The catch: it’s locked to Japan
This is not a quietly launched global budget console. The new model is region-locked to Japan: the system language has to be set to Japanese and you need a PlayStation account registered in Japan. In practice that makes it a local offer rather than a cheaper route into the current generation for players elsewhere, and Sony has not announced anything comparable for the United States.
The pricing context explains why Japan is getting it. A standard PS5 in Japan currently runs 97,980 yen (about $619), while in the US prices swing between roughly $500 and $800 depending on the model, refurbished units included. Rising hardware costs have been a recurring theme this generation – we also covered how used PS5 Pro consoles ended up priced above new ones at retail.
What about the color outside Japan?
There is no Midnight Black PS5 console sold in the United States, at any price. You can, however, buy a Midnight Black console cover separately and fit it to an existing PS5 – visually you end up in the same place, just without the lower price tag and without the Japanese account requirement.
What it means for you
If you’re in Japan, this is simply the cheapest way to get a current-gen PlayStation right now, with the disc drive available as an optional add-on later. If you’re anywhere else, treat it as a regional move rather than a sign of an incoming global price cut. Digital-only hardware does nudge you toward the online side of the platform, so a PlayStation Plus subscription page is worth a look if you don’t already have one.
Want more from the platform? We’ve also written about the latest PS5 system update, the new Pulse and Pulse Edge headsets, and everything else in our PlayStation news hub.
FAQ
The Midnight Black PS5 Digital Edition costs 55,000 yen in Japan, which works out to roughly $349.
It launches in Japan on November 19. Pre-orders are scheduled to start on October 20 through participating Japanese retailers and online stores.
No. The console is region-locked to Japan – it requires the system language to be set to Japanese and a PlayStation account registered in Japan. Sony has not announced an equivalent model for the United States.
Not out of the box, since it’s a digital-only system. Sony is releasing a matching Midnight Black disc drive on November 19 for 11,980 yen, which can be added separately.
It offers 825GB of SSD storage plus the standard PS5 features: the high-speed SSD, 3D audio, PS4 backward compatibility, and DualSense haptic feedback with adaptive triggers.