PS5: Release Date, Price, Specs And Features Of The Playstation 5

PS5 release date:

• The Playstation 5 will officially be released at the end of 2020! The official presentation took place on June 4, 2020, and ever since, lots of information has been released, even leaked, by various sources… including Playstation’s official magazine.
• The console’s release will not be delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. When interviewed by Bloomberg, Sony said that the PS5 launch will not be affected and that there has been ‘no impact so far on preparations for Playstation 5 production.’ That means that the console is still expected for the holiday season and it will still be possible to find one under your tree on Christmas morning.
• According to insider Roberto Serrano, July 13 will be a big day for an info drop.

PS5 price: £449?

• In late June, a well-known and seemingly well-informed video game insider IronManPS5 posted a tweet confirming the prices of the new console, but this tweet has since been taken down. Amazon France also apparently briefly put up a listing for the console on Amazon, stating that the PS5 Digital Edition (without disc player) and thePS5 classic versions will be sold respectively for €399 and €499. However, Amazon has since claimed this listing was fake, but the prices seem to correspond to previous rumours. IronManPS5 also announced the prices for accessories such as the DualSense controller (around £50) and even the headset (around £150).
• In mid-February 2020, Sony found themselves with a console that was too expensive to produce and the only way they wouldn’t lose too much money was to sell it for somewhere between £400-450… which is quite expensive for the average gamer!
• Although no official price has been released at the moment and despite the fact that we nothing to go on but rumours that suggest the PS5 could cost around the same price as previous consoles, IronManPS5 suggests that the price will be somewhere around $499, €499 or £449. And when you hear that the XBOX Series X, Microsoft’s next-gen console, will be marketed at around the same price ($499), it does seem like there may be some truth to these rumours.
• In an interview with Wired, PS5's project manager has announced that ‘the console would be sold at a reasonable price relative to its capabilities,’ a price which would ‘appeal to players’. But new information suggests that a second version of the PS5, the PS5 Pro, could be launched very quickly which could hike up the price!

PS5 design:

• During their conference on June 11 for PS5 games, Sony unveiled the design of their new console as well. The manufacturer also informed us that two versions of the console will be available, a classic and another which is 100% digital and does not include a disc player. This version will be cheaper (as Microsoft did with its Xbox One S which was also completely digital) and the games will need to be downloaded from their online store.
• With regard to the PS5’s design, it was first revealed ‘standing' on a base. But it will also be possible to lay the console on its side since the disc player would be located on the lower left.

PS5 controller:

• On April 7, Sony unveiled its new PS5 controller which will replace the DualShock. It is called the DualSense and alongside this new design, there will also be new features including haptic feedback, a Create button, a USB-C port and a built-in microphone.
• Although early patent leaks back in November 2019 gave us our first glance at the DualSense 5, we have noticed that the design hasn’t really changed much, apart from the fact that the LED list strip has disappeared to improve autonomy. But the joysticks are bigger! Remember back in December 2019, Sony released a back button attachment for the DualShock 4 which add two new buttons. The DualSense will most likely also have something similar or other similar improvements.

PS5 features:

• In terms of hardware, the PS5 will have an 8-core processor and an AMD Naviou Zen GPU just like that which was announced back in late 2018. Forbes has since confirmed this, citing anonymous sources, but specifying that AMD’s architecture, Zen, will be used. Sony is said to be working closely with AMD to develop a unique chip for the console, so close in fact that other AMD projects may end up suffering because their workers are working ‘100% with Sony’. In April 2019, the CEO of AMD Lisa Su confirmed once again that AMD will be playing quite a large role in the PS5 development but that Sony will be adding their own flair to it as well.
• During a presentation they gave back in November, Samsung presented their future SSDs and announced that the PS5 will also be equipped with them. This addition to the console will allow the console to load games 3 times faster, which is exactly what Sony wanted, seeing as though players have viewed these loading times as quite negative in the past. This SSD was then shown off again in March 2020 by the creator of PS5, Mark Cerny!
• Virtual Reality may also be a big feature for Sony’s new console. During the first State of Play event, Sony unveiled several VR games that they have planned for the upcoming years. However, the PSVR 2 will not be released at the same time as the PS5. According to Dominic Mallinson, Sony’s R&D chief, ‘from the point of view of the consumer, to be bombarded with many many things - oh, you have to buy this, you have to buy that - is a message that we don’t want to send. In some ways, it’s good to have a little breathing space between those things’.
• According to the console’s creator Mark Cerny, the specs are as follows: AMD Zen 2 CPU, custom AMD 8-core RDNA 2 GPU and a unique SSD with 16GB of RAM storage.
• The PS5 development kit also appeared in photos, revealing the internal architecture of the console and its strange V shape.

PS5 News:

• Development kits for the PS5 have already been sent to some studios!
• The PS5 project will once again be managed by Mark Cerny. He managed the PS4 project and has since been touring development studios so as to get feedback from those who make the games. Update: Cerny gave an exclusive interview, here’s what he said!
• In early October 2018, Sony filed a patent for backward compatibility functionalities which would improve the graphics and the sound quality of games without the need for updates, through reworked textures which would be sent to the console by what seems like the Cloud (the description of the patent is very vague). Furthermore, the PS5 will be backwards compatible with all PS4 games.
• The day after this patent was filed, one of the CEOs said that the next generation of consoles that will be released will have a lot of innovative new features, including more focus on cloud-gaming. As well as this, several other patents for a controller with a mini-screen as well as 8K features have been identified… in addition to one for a 2TB hard drive. They are also planning for an ultra-fast SSD (15 times faster than what the PS4 Pro currently offers).
• We recently mentioned the PS5 development kits and this information has since been confirmed. At Square Enix, several jobs have been advertised for new recruits to work on their new PS5 game.
• These dev kits seem to be all gone now since there was not actually very many. Several first-party studios (belonging to Sony) apparently have them and according to analyst Daniel Ahmad, the feedback is looking positive.
• Sony have also launched two new television models which have bee specially adapted for their new console… but they are extortionate, at around £10,000 and £50,000. If you want to truly appreciate the new game console, you will need a good TV since the power needs a good display screen, something the Nintendo Switch does not need.
• Of course, and as Sony has announced, we didn’t receive any further news during E3 2019. However, just a few days after the American event, a demo was released by the Japanese company which showed that game loading times are now gone since everything will be preloaded onto the hard drive and quickly accessible thanks to the ultra-fast SSD & RAM combo. After this, a Sony official explained that streaming and cloud games are the future of video games… and that PS Now is in a good position in the market and will continue onto future generations of consoles.
• At the end of June 2019, the president of Sony mentioned that the next console will be designed for the ‘hardcore' players and that the company is trying to strengthen relationships with large publishers as well as working on AAA exclusives from its internal studios.
• PS5 gameplay has been released alongside the Unreal Engine 5 tech demo!
• During their conference on 11th June, Sony revealed several titles that they will be releasing for the PS5. The return of very popular games as well as new releases will soon be available on the long-awaited Japanese console.