We’ve been following the upcoming PS5 for a while now and since the announcement of the Dualsense controller, excitement has been at peak levels. Thankfully the wait to know more is almost at an end, and for us, there are few things as exciting as the launch of a new console. Now as a result of Corona and all events being cancelled, this Sony event is going to be online via Twitch or YouTube, June 4 at 9 p.m. BST.
What do we know?
PlayStation has always been about more than just gaming so what is the is PS5 ging to offer at launch? Much is it going to cost? What’s the expected release date and will this year’s model be an 8K Machine? We’ve looked into our crystal ball and we think we have some of the answers.
We have learned a lot from Mark Cerny, PlayStations lead architect and over the last year both himself and Sony have confirmed some details, so let’s have a look at what we think we know.
Price
This is a tricky one, mainly due to Covid-19, will Sony stick to past form or will they price gouge knowing that people are gaming more than ever? With that in mind the price is likely to be kept under wraps until closer to release.
We’re guessing that they will stick to form, the PS1 & 2 rocked up at launch at approx €300, while the PS3 & 4 came in at about €500, so if we were to place a bet right now we presume the PS5 will hit the shelves for between €500-€600.
The thing is you shouldn’t take this as fact as there are a number of contributing factors in play right now, the ongoing trade war between the US & China has all console developers worried and according to Bloomberg Sony is having significant troubles in keeping the cost of the PS5 down. It’s due to the cost of the components inside with DRAM and NAND flash memory, in particular, proving expensive what with smartphone manufacturers gearing up for their own next-gen devices. Basically the price difference could be anything up to €150. Fingers crossed any extra development cost isn’t landed right onto the consumer.
Release date
The official line is before the Holiday Season 2020, which means we are ramping up for the latest edition of console wars with the Xbox Series X due in time for Christmas 2020.
As for an official launch, Sony had flagged E3 as the event for the big reveal but then the world fell apart, hence this new virtual event. Thankfully, the corona hasn’t affected the release date as of yet but there is potential that certain developers may struggle to release games on time. The latest rumour we hear is that in order to avoid a console war and relieve the pressure the PS5 will be reverse compatible, meaning PS4 games will work fine and will let them release for late August/September instead of October.
4K Blu-ray
Will the PS5 run 8K Video?
From what we know the PS5 is going to run 8K video…somewhat. The PS5 will run an AMD Ryzen Chip and a GPU from the Radeon Navi suite, combine this with SSD storage and we are set for fast load times, large bandwidth capabilities and serious graphics.
But is it enough for 8K? Possibly for the more simple titles but the big blockbuster not so much but we expect these to run a version of the upscaling tech Sony use to make games look sexy in 4K for the PS4 Pro.
Will we see a more advanced version of HDR, such as HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, also employed? We certainly wouldn’t rule it out, particularly as the current Xboxes already support the latter, but nothing has so far been announced on that front…until June 4th!
Will the PS5 support Dolby Atmos?
Story with the Console
To be perfectly honest, we don’t think this is the final design, we reckon elements of this and the PS4 design will combine to make something much sleeker than the render above. Maybe a PS4 with the flying V ventilation system but let’s wait and see.
One thing we do know for sure is that the PS5 will be a more environmentally-friendly games console than the PS4. The Head of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Jim Ryan, revealed a feature called “suspended gameplay” which gets through less power than the current console. If it was used by one million PS5 owners, that would represent a reduction in electricity consumption equivalent to 1000 US households.
DualSense Controller
To be honest, this new design is getting some very mixed reviews for its look but personally I think it’s quite a slick looking bit of kit. Sony claims they have kept much of what people enjoyed about the DualShock 4 control all the while adding in some new features to go alongside its new look. It seems that touch and audio are going to be the two major developments with the latest control rendition. But we have already done a full article on the new control which you can check out here.
The Accessories & VR
In November another patent was released, hinting at some new accessories. For example, we have seen sketches of a mystery cartridge turned up for what many believe are going to be expandable SSD storage modules. Or modern-day memory cards, because why not.
One interesting twist is Sony may be working on a 3D hologram accessory for the PS5 for multiplayer games. A light emitter with an eye tracker could project an image directly to the user’s retina to give the impression of a hologram floating in mid-air.
What games can we expect?
- Assasin’s Creed Valhalla
- Cyberpunk 2077
- GTA 6
- Godfall
- The Last of Us: Part 2, Starfield
- The Elder Scrolls 6
- Death Stranding
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Gran Turismo 7
We’re expecting to get a closer look at some of the big titles launching on PS5 during a special YouTube livestream event scheduled for Thursday 4th June. Keep an eye on our social channels for more info.
