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Whether we can bring ourselves to accept it or not, the much-loved Sony PlayStation 4 is just over six years old, and the much-anticipated PlayStation 5 is on the horizon. There’s no doubt that the PS4’s impressive games catalogue has helped Sony shift 106-million-plus units – but they’ve got to do even better with the PlayStation 5, as tech-rival Microsoft’s Xbox Series X console will certainly be putting up some stiff competition.
So, when will the PS5 launch, what specs will Sony be cramming in, and what sort of games will it be launched with? And most importantly, how much is Sony’s next console going to cost?
Keep reading for all the news, rumours and more about PlayStation 5.
What are the PS5’s launch games?
Only one game has been confirmed as a PS5-exclusive – Godfall, a fantasy themed hack-and-slash. We've got high hopes it'll shoot straight into the ranks of the best in the genre.
Aside from that, it’s hard to know what’s in store, though it is a safe bet that new instalments of Sony’s best titles, such as Gran Turismo, Uncharted, God of War, and Horizon Zero Dawn, will be around at the time of launch. And expect some multi-platform games, too: think (and hope) Bioshock, Assassin's Creed, and Battlefield.
When's the PS5 being released?
Official Sony channels are keeping pretty schtum about this detail. In a post from Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan, it was confirmed that the machine is indeed called PlayStation and that it’ll be with us ‘in time for Holiday 2020’. To which holiday Ryan is referring, we’ve got no idea - but a betting individual would say that based on previous launches, it’s likely to be late-November. Vague, but exciting.
This date range will also put the PS5 launch date in the same window as the forthcoming Xbox Series X – begun, the console wars have.
What are the PS5’s hardware and specs?
Even though the PS5 is still months away, Sony has revealed a healthy amount of information about the new console. In an interview with Wired, Mark Cerny, the machine’s system architect, confirmed that the PlayStation 5 will be able to use ‘ray-tracing’, a technology responsible for more realistic lighting and 3D sound-effects, and states it’ll be done at a hardware – not software – level.
We’re also in for an extremely crisp picture. Much like when the PS4 Pro brought some 4K bliss to Sony’s console, the PS5 will be bringing god-tier 8K. Whether you TV can handle 8K is a different matter entirely.
Powering the above gadgetry will be the third generation of AMD’s Ryzen processors, combined with a Radeon Navi-based GPU. In the Wired interview, Cerny confirmed that the AMD Ryzen processor in the PS5 will feature eight cores, and use the company’s latest 7nm Zen 2 tech. That’s similar to the Xbox Series X, too.
What’s this about the PS5’s SSD and 100GB Discs?
Like its Microsoft competition, the PS5 will be shipping with an integrated SSD (Solid State Drive) as standard. While PS4 owners were able to use third-party units to upgrade their console, Sony has included them as stock, no doubt a response to the sheer volume of data PS5 games will be accessing, and the speed they’ll need to do it at.
All this tech wizardry appears to translate into a real improvement of the PS4: A Spider-Man demo loaded eight times faster on the PS5 than its predecessor.
Physical games will now come on 100GB discs, but Sony have let it slip that there will be a compulsory download with every title. If you’re already worried about storage space, Sony wants to calm your fears. In his interview with Wired, Cerny explains that users will be able to download sections of games, rather than everything. That means you could play the latest Call of Duty's campaign once, and then uninstall it, leaving just the multiplayer mode on your console.
The PS5 will also spin 4K Blu-rays, great news for film fans looking to make the new system the heart of their entertainment setup.
What do we know about the DualShock 5 controller?
Sony seems pretty excited about the new DualShock 5, which’ll be the standard controller for the PS5. In the aforementioned blog post, SIE president Ryan revealed that the new controller will utilise haptic feedback, replacing the rumble tech found in previous generations.
In theory, that should mean a far more varied and detailed feedback from games; in the blog post Ryan explains: ‘crashing into a wall in a race car feels much different than making a tackle on the football field.’
In addition, game developers will be able to configure the amount of resistance in the L2 and R2 triggers, a move similar to one Sony made previously with the Sony Gold Wireless Headset, which allowed user to download certain sound profiles set by game developers. Ryan explains that this’ll be useful for refining the experience of action such as drawing bows or accelerating vehicles in-game.
What’s the price of the PS5?
Looking at Sony’s history, we can see that the PS3 was generally more expensive than the Xbox, but the PS4 and PS4 Pro both landed at £349. This lower pricing strategy worked well for Sony, so they’ll be keen to avoid alienating audiences by overpricing when compared with competition. Having said that, with all the hardware specs, it’s likely that the PS5 will be coming in at around £450, rising to £500 with a game – a figure most reports seem to agree on.
However, Sony's chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki has got wind of these rumours and has been quick to say that no price tag has been locked in.
The PS5’s technology represents a significant step-up for console gaming, but we’re going to have to pay for it.
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