Sony has just announced a PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection and I want it all
Sony, what are you doing to me? I’ve just come to terms with you announcing the £700 PlayStation 5 Pro and now you go and drop this gorgeous little bombshell on me? How am I supposed to cope?
I’m of course talking about the PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection, which is bringing a bunch of PS1-themed consoles and accessories to market to celebrate the console’s 30th anniversary. Coming in a beautiful grey tone that apes the original PS1, a limited-edition PS5 Slim, PS5 Pro, PS Portal, DualSense and DualSense Edge are all going to be available later this year.
And… they are beautiful. Grey is a seriously underrated colour if you ask me. There’s something so sleek about these consoles and controllers in this two-tone hue. Maybe it just calls to the nostalgic child within me who misses the simplicity of a chunky, boxy PS1, but either way, Sony have captured my attention.
The 30th Anniversary PS5 Pro is only available in a bundle
While you can buy a limited edition PS5 Slim by itself, along with a DualSense, DualSense Edge and Portal, if you want to own a limited edition PS5 Pro console, you’re going to have to opt for a bundle. Yeah, there’s no way to buy a 30th Anniversary PS5 Pro by itself.
The Pro bundle comes with:
- PS5 Pro console
- DualSense controller
- DualSense Edge controller
- DualSense charging station
- Vertical stand
You read that right: it comes with a regular DualSense controller as standard, but also a DualSense Edge, Sony’s £210 premium controller. The charging station and vertical stand are generally sold separately too, though this will apparently be the only way to get a grey-coloured DualSense charging station.
Sony has not revealed a price for any of its 30th Anniversary pieces yet, but I’m fairly sure this bundle is going to be over £1,000, given the price of a standard PS5 Pro and the DualSense Edge alone.
Both limited edition PS5 consoles come with some neat accessories
Whether you opt for a PS5 Slim or a PS5 Pro, you’ll get a bundle of random (but admittedly rather neat) collectibles. There’s a USB-C cable with original PlayStation housing, so when you charge your controller it looks like it’s plugged into a PS1, some PlayStation cable ties, a PlayStation sticker, a PlayStation paperclip (?!) and a limited edition poster.
I’m not sure who needs a PlayStation paperclip and why, but… yeah, I still kind of want it.
Both consoles also come with a grey disc drive cover, so if you do add a disc drive you can ensure it matches the rest of your sleek grey console. They both also come with a vertical stand, which is typically sold separately.
Pre-orders open on 26th September
Pre-orders will open for all items next Thursday, 26th September via the PlayStation Direct store. If you live in a region where PlayStation Direct is unavailable, you’ll be able to pre-order from select participating retailers.
Sony has said that only 12,300 units of the PS5 Pro will be available worldwide. It’s a number that represents the month and date of the PS1 launch, and every console will be etched with its unique limited edition number. It hasn’t said how many units of everything else will be available.
It’s of course not the first time Sony has released an Anniversary Edition console: we got a 20th Anniversary PS4 10 years ago — and getting hold of one of those was a difficult task thanks to how rare they are. I remember longingly looking at one through the window of my local CEX (then subsequently balking at its ridiculous second-hand price tag).
If you fancy your chances of getting any of these 30th Anniversary items, then, you’re going to want to be fast at pre-ordering on 26th September. Even if the DualSense controllers aren’t as limited as the PS5 Pro, we imagine they’re still going to sell out fast (look at the Astro Bot controller: pre-orders were sold out within a day).
All items from the collection will ship on November 21st.
