Console Hardware
There is no shortage of mystery around this PS5 presentation, and none more so than around the console hardware itself. While we’ve seen the DualSense controller, we’ve yet to see any hints at the console itself. All the verbiage around the stream seems to hover around gameplay experiences and the games themselves, rather than any mention of a first look at console hardware.
It’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility that the console gets shown off, but we’re about 50-50 on this. Of course, the console isn’t what you’re going to be looking at 99% of the time anyway, so we’re not sure it really matters to see what will likely be a plastic rectangle of some kind, but it would be nice to see what we’re likely to plop down $500 on in just a few months.
Black / Grey DualSense controller
The Internet likes to have its opinions, and the two-toned DualSense controller is certainly a divisive style choice, especially after Sony’s fairly iterative designs from the original PlayStation controller to the DualShock 4.
Many mockups of black and grey Dual Sense controllers have made the rounds, and they’re all quite appealing in design, certainly lining up more with the PlayStation design language than the Xbox 360-reminiscent DualSense that was shown off in April.
With a limited production run for the first batch of consoles, it is not super realistic to expect multiple controller variations at launch, however, the first run may just end up with black or grey controllers, with a switch to white later on. In fact, if the material simply requires a colour change, it wouldn’t be impossible for Sony to switch to a black or grey scheme instead.
This is largely dependent on the design of the console, of course, as the PlayStation 5 would likely be the same colour as the base controller it comes with. This console generation hasn’t had any shortage of surprises so far, however, so all bets are off as far as we know. Who says you can’t make a purple – ahem, indigo – console?
God of War
When God of War‘s reinvention was revealed at E3 2016, it was met with thunderous applause and some of the most excited fans we’ve ever seen at a live show. The game released just under two years later to critical acclaim and quickly rose the ranks to become one of the best titles on the current generation of consoles.
Two years after the game’s release, we suspect that Sony Santa Monica is working on a sequel to the title, as it has been making a number of hires lately, specifically looking for Senior Combat Designers with “knowledge of God of War (2018) and be able to speak in depth about the combat systems, mechanics and enemies.”
While we don’t expect that God of War will be released as a launch title for PlayStation 5 – in fact, we’re almost positive it will be a 2021 or later game – we’re just as positive that it gets a bit of light as a showstopper right at the end of the presentation.
Call of Duty
Widely rumoured to be a Black Ops reboot, it is not unlikely that Call of Duty makes its official reveal on the PlayStation 5 reveal stream. Activision typically does their own reveal in May, then partner to do a full gameplay reveal at a console manufacturer’s press conference at E3, but with no such E3 this year, and with May having come and gone, now is as good a time as any.
If the game is anything as successful as last year’s Modern Warfare reboot, we can expect big things for 2020’s Call of Duty. Seeing just how incredible the game could look on PS5 would be a great way to entice people to the new console. If the game releases in October as others in the Call of Duty series usually do, and the new console follows a few weeks later, Xbox’s Smart Delivery feature may be a win in Microsoft’s corner, but it doesn’t rule out Sony and Activision partnering on a free upgrade program on a per-title basis.
— James Kiwami (@GarnetSunset) June 9, 2020
A sizzle reel of Indie games
It may be easy to dismiss this category as one that won’t be able to highlight PlayStation 5’s powerful hardware. However, looking at how much of a role ray tracing played in showcasing what Microsoft’s new console can do, adding the lighting tech to indie games may well change the look of Sony’s indie dev partner titles as well. Depending on how simple the development tools are to use, such tech would solidify Sony’s stance that PlayStation 5 is a platform for third-parties as much as it is for the big studios like Ubisoft or EA.
Sports, Sports, Sports
This category is a bit of a yawn for some, however reiterating that sports and racing games are one of the best ways to show off what a console is made of, not to mention that so many are missing live sports during the pandemic, this category is all but guaranteed to show up. While we don’t foresee any racing games competing with the a Gran Turismo reveal, we are certainly thinking that EA will show up with their biggest titles for the 2020-2021 season. This could be a breath of fresh air and a way to establish a new baseline for high quality visuals and realistic body physics on next-generation hardware.
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