This was a big day for fans of the PlayStation brand, because it marked our first look at Sony’s next console, the PlayStation 5. In a perfect world this announcement would’ve occurred on a stage in Los Angeles, California, but a pandemic caused the cancellation of E3 2020 and forced Sony to go the online route.
Although we expected a look at one console, we ended up getting to see two different PS5s, the second of which doesn’t have a disc drive. Like Microsoft before them, Sony plans to market this stripped down product to those who only buy their games through digital distribution. The rest of us, who still like discs, enjoy being able to borrow or rent games, and maybe don’t have very good Internet, can opt for the regular PlayStation 5 console.
Both devices feature a very futuristic look, which takes advantage of curved plastic and a contrasting black and white colour scheme. One just happens to be slightly more bulky than the other, as you’ll see in the provided picture. It’s an odd looking design, which is honestly going to take a while to get used to, and is reminiscent of something from a 90s science fiction movie.
This new console is designed to be vertical, and will come with a stand that works for that, or for laying it down horizontally. In that way it’s similar to the Xbox Series X, which is also said to favour standing vertically. We just don’t know how most people are going to accommodate this, given that many have TV stands with limited space in between shelves.
As revealed previously, Sony’s new device will feature a proprietary SSD drive, which will drastically lessen loading times. It will provide 825gb of storage, which doesn’t feel like enough, and with offer 5.5GB/s of performance. All games will also need to be installed to the SSD in order to take advantage of this capability, which makes you wonder why there isn’t an option to buy a console with a bigger hard drive. After all, most of us seasoned gamers are using one, if not two, external hard drives these days.
The console’s architecture will then be powered by an eight core AMD Zen 2 CPU, and a custom AMD RDNA 2-based GPU. These custom AMD chips will provide 10.28 teraflops of power, and will use variable frequencies, according to what Sony’s revealed. This will allow for 8K graphics, 4K visuals at a 120Hz refresh rate and 3D audio.
You’ve likely already seen the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller, but if not we’ve embedded a video below. The accessory has adaptive triggers, haptic feedback and a new create button. It will also feature a centred touch pad, two thumbsticks and a redesigned light bar.
Expect to see the PlayStation 5 in stores and online this holiday season. We can’t tell you how much it’ll cost, or exactly when it will be released, but Sony stills seems keen on releasing it this year despite potential Covid-19 delays. The company has also stated that the console will support the majority of the PlayStation 4’s 4000 games.