Keep in mind Sony did go from TSMC 7nm+ to 6nm in the original design which was about a 15% chip size reduction with a corresponding decrease to power consumption and heat.

Sony did compensate with a smaller, simpler, cheaper heatsink.

Over time as a process matures, you tend to get better electrical characteristics in your silicon as well which can increase yields and also further reduce power consumption and heat.

And 6nm has been around for years now, it's matured.

Not really.

Microsoft gave you 1 Terabyte of SSD space INSTEAD of the optical drive, overhauled controller, reduced power consumption, smaller console size, Better Wifi and Bluetooth... They aren't even remotely comparable, Microsoft is giving you genuine upgrades for the same price with a trade-off of no optical drive. (Boo!)

I would personally rather keep the optical drive, but that's me.

To Sony's credit they did increase the SSD size in the digital console, but only by a quarter of the amount that Microsoft did.

The ps5 is outselling the Xbox 2:1... Sony doesn't have to try as hard. Look at the switch, it still hasn't had a price. Market dynamics and all that.

Don't know what to say about the new PS5 look. On one hand I like them better, and on the other, I don't. Not great but not terrible. White still? Really?

As for the new PS5 DE price increase, the main reason isn't inflation, poor XB competition, or SNY greed, though they all play a part.

The main reason is because if you bought an existing PS5 DE, you're stuck and locked into the PS Store for good. You have no other choice but to buy only new digital games directly from SNY. This makes it easier for SNY to subsidize the hardware more for consumers, knowing they can 'guarantee' breaking even and making 'worthy' profits.

This new PS5 DE gives you the option to get out of being stuck buying only new digital games directly from the PS Store. You will have the option to get the BD drive accessory, then buy new discs or used discs, rent discs, or borrow discs for free. This makes it tougher for SNY to guarantee they'll be able to make 'worthy' profits down the road. Which is also why the BD drive accessory is priced so high. SNY is trying to make sure they make 'enough' profits in case you decide to switch and go physical sooner than later.

This higher price for the new PS5 DE model could possibly hurt but also help SNY considering the XBSS strong sales vs XBSX. What we might very well see is XBSS sales may increase now that it'll be even more of a deal in comparison to the new PS5 DE. What that may also lead to however, is MS seriously questioning whether or not they should bother with the higher end model or "worlds most powerful console" marketing next gen. If XBSS sales are strong enough, with the heavy focus on XBGP, it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see MS try and hit a $300-$400 price point for a single console SKU next gen. Would their XBSX players be ok with the weaker console, or a PC, or would they buy a PS6 instead?

These post Covid years stink. Every week I do groceries the bill goes up again. It's 30% more now since before the pandemic, where I would first spend avg $200 a week on groceries, it's now avg $260 :( Gas some weeks is now up to 1.70 a liter, was down to 70 cents a liter in the pandemic.

Consoles have always been able to beat inflation with cost reduction, but as MS has stated, there is little to no cost reduction to be had anymore. And with the Yen falling against the Yuan as well, manufacturing only got more expensive :/

PS could also really use a larger acquisition fund to deal with what XB has been doing and has planned.
I wonder where that money could come from? What things could SNY be charging more for?...

Jeez

I'm fully prepared for consoles for 600 USD and games 80 USD next gen 

The worst part about this is that sony will get away with this with zero repercussions as usual.

LOL

if people pay for the increased asking price, that is not Sony getting away with zero repercussions: it's people willing to pay that amount for a product they want.

Anyhow, width, height, depth and weight are all reduced. Looks like I might be jumping in on a ps5. 

The yen is historically weak. Look it is still cheaper in Japan than most places on a USD basis.

Eh that's what getting away with zero repercussions is. Just because people are dumb enough to fall for this does not make it right. Slim consoles have always been cheaper in the past this is just another awful precedent that sony are setting.