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Sony PlayStation (Games)

Sony Confirms the PS5 Won't Support SSD Storage Expansion at Launch (theverge.com) 49

Sony says its PlayStation 5 can load virtual worlds far faster than ever before, thanks to one of the fastest solid-state drives ever made -- but it's also not a particularly big drive. Sony has confirmed to The Verge that you won't be able to expand that blazing-fast SSD storage on day one. From a report: While the PS5 features a dedicated internal slot that can theoretically fit standard stick-shaped M.2 SSDs and an easy way to access it, the slot will apparently be disabled out of the box. "[T]his is reserved for a future update," Sony tells The Verge.
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Sony Confirms the PS5 Won't Support SSD Storage Expansion at Launch

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  • Umm... it requires basically taking the unit apart, likely voiding the warranty

    • by aitikin ( 909209 )

      Replacing the hard drive in a PS4 did not void the warranty and Sony actually published instructions [playstation.com] on how to. I would be shocked to see them take a major step back on that...

      But it is Sony, so we'll see...

      • Reserved for a future update probably means they haven't programmed the "format this drive and have code to use it as expanded storage" figured out, or they are going to make it so the contents are encrypted so people can't hand-edit their saves (how much health / weapons / etc do I have in this game).

        Presumably, they will figure it out sooner or later, so as long as I am not penalized for buying one early, it wouldn't matter much to me.
      • Regardless, you'll need 2 different screwdrivers and to remove 3 pieces of plastic without breaking them to install additional storage

    • by Entrope ( 68843 )

      It requires taking the white panel off one side and unscrewing a cover for the M.2 expansion slot. That's less than was required for changing the hard drive on the PS3, which was explicitly allowed under the warranty.

    • by fennec ( 936844 )
      No you just need to remove one side with your hands and you have a standard NVME slot: https://www.gamespot.com/artic... [gamespot.com] Contrary to Xbox Series that uses a non-standard SSD "slot".
    • Taking the unit apart will not void your warranty (in the US), stickers be damned. The warranty would not apply to the replaced part (if it failed) and they could deny warranty service related to problems actually occurring as a result of the replacement. Of course, you might have to argue with them over it...
    • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      Umm... it requires basically taking the unit apart, likely voiding the warranty

      No, it's officially supported. You remove the side cover from the PS5, then unscrew a cover and the m2 slot is exposed for the SSD.

      Reserved for a future update probably means they haven't programmed the "format this drive and have code to use it as expanded storage" figured out, or they are going to make it so the contents are encrypted so people can't hand-edit their saves (how much health / weapons / etc do I have in this game)

      • Except that isn't true at all. From their warranty:

        THIS WARRANTY SHALL NOT APPLY IF THIS PRODUCT...

        (b) IS USED FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES (INCLUDING RENTAL) OR IS MODIFIED OR TAMPERED WITH;

        (c) IS DAMAGED BY ACTS OF GOD, MISUSE, ABUSE, NEGLIGENCE, ACCIDENT, WEAR AND TEAR, UNREASONABLE USE, OR BY OTHER CAUSES UNRELATED TO DEFECTIVE MATERIALS OR WORKMANSHIP;

        You remove the side cover from the PS5, then unscrew a cover and the m2 slot is exposed for the SSD.

        And when someone tries to pull instead of slide? There's also the base to remove if it's vertical, the screw is different from the M2 slot screw so you'll need multiple tools. It's a bad design. Your average Slashdotter may do just fine with, your average idiot will likely break the case.

        Xbox got this one right even if it's non-standard.

        • The local gaming store or guy on craigslist or whoever else will do it for $20 or offer it as a "free" service when you buy the drive from him. This same person will probably also repair trashed PS5s from idiots trying to do it themselves for slightly more money. Whatever.

  • by the_skywise ( 189793 ) on Friday November 06, 2020 @10:38AM (#60691620)

    You need our special M2 drives!

    • The Xbox Series X requires a special 1TB SSD expansion drive but when you actually compare it's $219 price tag to NVME etc drives of the same capacity and throughput it's about right with the pricing.
      • No it's not. It's a cheap DRAM-less, 4-channel NAND flash drive.
        Good, cheaper TLC PCIe 3 drives with DRAM and 8 channels are much better.

        • WD black SN750 is only $135 and is better than what is in the Xbox. The P34A80 is $115 and is better as well.

  • by ravenshrike ( 808508 ) on Friday November 06, 2020 @10:55AM (#60691686)

    They haven't done compatibility testing yet and won't expose themselves to legal liability.

    • Or they will charge you $49.95 at some future time to enable it.
    • by UnknownSoldier ( 67820 ) on Friday November 06, 2020 @11:24AM (#60691776)

      This is probably the real reason.

      The conspiracy that Sony wants to to push their yet-another-proprietary memory stick [slashdot.org] is just that -- a rumor. I believe Sony has finally learnt their lesson.

      They have stated they will allow after-market SSDs.

      • This is probably the real reason.

        What possible liability scenario can you open yourself up to? Common I'm keen to hear. I want to sue my the manufacturer of every computer I've ever owned and I'm just waiting for you to tell me how.

        Seriously this is a dumb argument buy even American frivolous lawsuit standards. PS5 is a week away, assuming there *was* some kind of strange part of the world where any form of liability would hold here, all Sony needs to do is go out buy one SSD, cram it in, run a few tests and put it on a QVL published onlin

        • by flink ( 18449 )

          They've already stated that they will be certifying select standard commercial M.2 drives to work with the PS5. I think the delay is that they need to stand up a certification program to ensure the drive is compatible and meets latency and sustained throughput requirements. They want the game developers to be able to rely on a bedrock minimum throughput for storage so they can stream game assets in real time with no loading. Large open worlds with no loading/pop-in was a major talking point this gen for

        • If they enable it without also issuing a compatibility list, you would be able to sue in much of the US if the PCIe 4.0 drive you bought either failed to meet spec and so crashed/slowed down a game or if it didn't fit properly and the drive broke.

    • by xack ( 5304745 )
      More like they are making sure the file system is sufficiently secure to avoid any jailbreaks.
    • They haven't done compatibility testing yet and won't expose themselves to legal liability.

      Don't be absurd. There isn't any kind of legal liability to plugging things into expansion slots when you don't give anyone guarantees in the first place. Much like motherboard makers don't compatibility test or are not even remotely held liable for anything you plug in.

      Not even in the USA would your argument pass a lawyer's red face test.

    • by Gabest ( 852807 )

      I think they did and maybe they discovered a possible way to hack the system. No SSD until it is fixed.

  • In 2007, I was buying my first console, wrestling with XB vs PS3. The primary feature in my choosing the PS3 was their highly-touted "Other OS feature" that let one run an OS other than the Sony's--it was great. And then, around 2010, they arbitrarily and imperiously (because "reasons") released an "update" that completely removed the feature.

    They claimed it was "voluntary" but if you DIDN'T install the update, you lost the ability to watch Blu-Ray DVDs or connect to the PS network (which was required fo
    • Two things happened: Context, the consoles were selling at a loss, to make a profit people had to buy a few sony games or accessories. 1) people started to use other os to download pirate / warez versions of the ps 3 games and bragged about it on-line 2) the U.S. Air Force started purchasing them in bulk, and building super computer clusters out of them.
      • by cookiej ( 136023 )
        Look, I paid for the feature. They just get to remove it? How does that make sense to anyone but Sony? It was built into the console. If they chose to sell at a loss, that's on them. It sets a dangerous precedent, right?

        Second, as far as the piracy aspect, read here: SONY "YET TO IDENTIFY A SINGLE INSTANCE" OF OTHER OS PS3 PIRACY [gamewatcher.com]. Show me your source for the "people" who bragged about it online. Very much like complaining about voter fraud without evidence.

        I am stunned this got downvoted but I gu
  • The internal HD has been swappable (for a standard SATA drive) since the PS3.
    • AFAIK the primary SSD of the PS5 is simply ICs soldered directly on the motherboard, there is nothing you can swap/upgrade.

      The topic here is about the internal M.2, PCIe 4.0 slot that is to be used for a secondary drive. Most people assumed that it would work right out of the box.

    • Also, hard drives are dead and SATA has joined IDE in the list of ancient drives connectors.

      • by flink ( 18449 )

        Until you can buy a 10TB M.2 SSD for a couple hundred bucks and hot swap it for bulk storage, SATA isn't going anywhere and neither are hard drives.

        • Also until you get 6+ M.2 slots as standard on any $100 motherboard. 6 SATA ports is common. M.2 is still usually only 1, sometimes 2. Fortunately there are M.2 to PCIe adapters, but that's another advantage for SATA.

          • M.2 is still usually only 1, sometimes 2.

            Or worse, this slot or that slot, but not both.

            • Worse, M.2 is just a connector, which sometimes means SSD or PCIe. Laptop and desktop makers are notoriously bad about stating precisely which M.2 standard their slots support. They'll crow about having one or more M.2 slots though, while remaining coy about what they really support. I have an Acer laptop with - 2 M.2 slots, one PCIe, and one SSD, the M.2 PCIe slot occupied by a smallish drive. When I upgraded to another, more sizable M.2 PCIe, I was dismayed to find out I couldn't use the original M.2

  • Sony hasn't yet figured out how to accommodate this with whatever copy protection and DRM solution they're going to enforce. Sony as a company is perpetually terrified of their customers being able to easily move their stuff around.

    • by rossz ( 67331 )

      Sony as a company is perpetually terrified of their customers being able to easily move their stuff around.

      No. Sony is terrified that people will find a way to bypass validations that prevent hacked versions of games from running and render popular games unplayable. That has happen before and they don't want it to happen again.

      • how did it make popular games unplayable?
        • by rossz ( 67331 )

          I believe certain games were overrun with wall hacks and aimbots. If you weren't running hacked code, you died instantly. They were able to add additional checks to catch the cheaters, but a few days went by where you couldn't play the targeted games.

          • You claimed it happened before. What you meant when you made that claim is that games and the platform were completely ruined by a cheat.

            But in fact, we find you what you meant to say, is that you noticed cheating for a few days. Not a lot of days, by your own confession. Just a few days, by your own confession.

            Why not just be fucking honest?
            • by rossz ( 67331 )

              The cheating stopped when they patched to prevent specific exploits. Those were more of band-aids the full fixes.

              I haven't confessed anything. I'm stating what I know happened, which is not complete, but does roughly cover the events. I do know that there was a massive banning some time later of accounts and consoles that continued to attempt cheats and exploits. This was after significant warnings that it would happen.

              Also, you are stating "we". Not. It's just you and your paranoia. I'm guessing you

      • Load of BS... this is just an encryption problem on the software side and it has been solved a while ago... the PS4 has allowed external drives, but that also came as a post launch update!

  • What's the blazing fast internal drive's size 650GB? Popular games these days weigh in at 50GB+ so you'll run out of space fairly quickly. Then you're back to a spinning external drive which is slow as molasses in January. I wish Sony would have put in at least a 2TB disk in the PS5. I would rather pay a bit more for the system then have to rely on slow external drives.
    • What's the blazing fast internal drive's size 650GB?

      It's a bit more than that, it ships with a 825GB HD [pushsquare.com], of which 667GB is usable for storage.

      That is still quite a bit of space, especially when you consider that the PS5 supports offloading single player content from a game and just keeping the resources for multi-player after you've finished single player...

      It's a good reason to have PSPlus as well, because you can just delete any game you aren't currently playing but your save files will be restorable at

  • They're not releasing this because they haven't figured out how to make it fully evil enough yet. I'm still pissed since I found my PS3 disk could not be copied to a bigger one, or even moved between machines. It was at that point I decided to stop giving money to Sony. X-box out of the question obviously.

    Fuck Sony. There's more than enough stuff I can get off steam to last a life time.

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