The PS5, PlayStation Portal, and Sony’s DualSense are still on sale for a limited time
Sony’s annual PlayStation sale has been going on for almost a month now, offering discounts on everything from the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition and PlayStation Portal to Sony’s standard DualSense controller. However, the end of the sale is fast approaching, with Sony’s website indicating that some deals will expire as early as Friday, December 19, while others will have a little more time until December 28. That means you don’t have much time left to get a last-minute gift for yourself or someone you love.
Until December 25, PS5 Digital Edition is on sale for $399 ($100 off) – its lowest price of the year – at Amazon, Walmart, and Sony’s PlayStation Direct storefront. Although this version is the cheapest console in Sony’s lineup, it does not have a disc drive, so games must be downloaded. With modern titles often exceeding 50GB, a fast and consistent internet connection is a must. That said, you can pick up an external disk drive designed to work with the system for $79.99 if you later decide you’d rather go the physical media route.
The standard PlayStation 5 slim is also on sale at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy until December 25, matching its lowest price of the year at $449 ($100 off). It’s similar to the Digital Edition and supports all the same games, but it has a built-in disc drive, allowing you to play your stack of old PlayStation titles, the latest PS5 and Blu-ray games right out of the box. If you prefer physical media, the PS5 is the way to go, as it’s ultimately more affordable than the combined price of a PS5 Digital Edition and Sony’s external drive.
If you want a little more punch, you can also save on the more powerful one PlayStation 5 Pro until December 25, which is currently at its all-time low of around $649 ($101 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and PlayStation Direct. The PS5 Pro has a bigger GPU, faster memory, improved ray tracing, Wi-Fi 7 support, and AI-based scaling. Improved internals allow you to play “PS5 Pro Enhanced” titles at higher resolutions or frame rates than on a standard PS5; However, there are no games exclusive to the PS5 Pro. Although we noticed slight graphical improvements when playing games on the more powerful console, the differences were only apparent when sitting within 10 feet of the TV.
THE PlayStation Portal is currently at an all-time low of $178.99 ($21 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy through December 25. When the Portable Remote Player launched in 2023, its only function was to remotely stream games from the PS5 over Wi-Fi. The Portal has improved since then, with Sony introducing a new cloud streaming feature that allows PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers to stream select PS5 games, including Astrobot And Resident Evil 4directly from the cloud rather than from their console over Wi-Fi. Portal users can also stream select titles from their own library without needing to connect to their PS5 console, making the 8-inch device a little more versatile than it was at launch.
Until December 19 you can buy Sony devices DualSense Wireless Controller in select colors starting at $54 (about $21 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy. The PS5 game controller helps enhance the gaming experience with haptic vibrations and variable tension rear triggers. The wireless controller also features a built-in speaker, gyroscope, accelerometer, and touchpad, and it’s compatible with macOS and Windows if you like to game on other platforms. While the PS5 and Portal might not arrive in time for Christmas, Amazon says the DualSense will be ready to be revealed on the big day.
Finally, the Pulse Explore Wireless Earbuds came in at around $169 ($31 off), their best price yet, at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy. The wireless headphones are tailor-made for Sony consoles, allowing you to enjoy lossless, ultra-low latency audio when using the PlayStation Link protocol. In our testing, the planar magnetic drivers delivered an audio experience with great clarity and separation, making it easy to distinguish small details and individual sound effects. When you’re done playing with them, you can even pair the Pulse Explore to your phone and other Bluetooth devices, making them easy to use as just headphones.
