PlayStation
Buy and sell PlayStation consoles and games in Guatemala.
Four generations of PlayStation are still played in Guatemala, new and pre-owned, from a PS5 Pro under a 4K television to a PS2 kept for a shelf of old discs. With them come the DualSense and DualShock controllers, which get copied far more often than the consoles. What decides a used one is often what a photo cannot show: whether the disc drive pairs, whether the controller is really Sony’s and how much dust the fan has pulled in. With ash from Fuego and Pacaya falling across the central highlands, that last question matters more here than in most places.
PS5 Slim, PS5 Pro and the disc drive that clips on:
the first PS5 came in two fixed versions, with a drive and without, and that early digital model can never take one. On the Slim and the Pro the drive is a separate piece: the Slim is sold either way, the Pro always arrives without it. A drive bought later fits a Slim Digital or a Pro, but it has to be paired over the internet the first time it goes on. The Pro earns its place on a 4K television; on an ordinary screen a Slim does the same job. The PS Portal is not a console but a handheld screen that mostly streams games from a PS5 over the home Wi-Fi. PS VR2 headsets sit under virtual reality.
A disc PlayStation or a digital one, away from fast internet:
the connection matters as much as the budget. On a digital console every game is a large download, a long wait on a slow line in Huehuetenango or Petén, while a disc model plays the same afternoon and its games can be sold on later. On fast internet the digital Slim costs less up front, but its games stay tied to your account. For a cheap library rather than discs, Game Pass on an Xbox is the other route; for a console the children carry from room to room, look at a Nintendo.
The finished PS4 generation against a new PS5:
a new PS5 on a Guatemalan shelf runs around Q7,500 to Q9,000, while a used PS4 Slim with a pair of controllers changes hands around Q1,300 to Q1,800. The PS4 is that cheap because its generation is over and the big releases now come out for PS5 alone. A PS4 Pro with its original controller tops that band; a first-generation PS4 with a noisy fan sits at the bottom.
Ash in the fan of a used PlayStation, and controllers that are not Sony’s:
a console pulls air through itself for as long as it runs, and in towns downwind of Fuego and Pacaya, or in the capital after a heavy ashfall, fine grit packs into the fan and heatsink. Ask when it was last opened for cleaning: a PS4 Pro that roars like a hair dryer after an hour is overdue. A genuine DualShock 4 flashes bright white while pairing; many copies glow turquoise, feel lighter and carry a smudged label. A copied DualSense often shows up on a PS5 as a PS4 controller, with triggers that never push back. Pull both triggers on a genuine one too, because the spring behind the adaptive trigger can snap and leave one side limp. On a PS2, try a blue-bottomed CD game and a silver DVD game: a worn laser often reads one and not the other.
The CUH or CFI sticker, the drive and the stand that go with a PS5:
photograph the label with the model number, since a CUH code marks a PS4 and a CFI code a PS5, and the digits after it tell a buyer which revision is on offer. Say whether a Slim or a Pro comes with its disc drive, whether the controller is the one from the box, and whether the console has ever been opened. The Slim and the Pro never came with a vertical stand, so mention it if you bought one. Keep the original box and its inserts: a PS5 is a heavy, awkward thing to carry, and a buyer coming in from Cobán or Antigua on the bus will want it packed the way it left the factory.
FAQ:
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Will my PS4 games play on a PS5?
Most do, from disc or through your account. A few PS4 titles will not run, and no PS5 reads PS3, PS2 or PS1 discs.
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Does a PS5 controller work on a PS4?
No. The other way round works: a DualShock 4 plays PS4 games on a PS5, though not PS5 games.