PlayStation 5: Everything we know about the Sony PS5

Sony confirmed back in October 2019 that the PlayStation 5 will be the official name of their next console, and revealed that it will release in holiday 2020. Even as of January 2020 though, we still don’t have a specific release date.

The console was first teased by Sony in an interview with WIRED, who have now have released another exclusive look into the new console, alongside PlayStation’s own confirmation.

“These updates may not be a huge surprise, but we wanted to confirm them for our PlayStation fans”, Sony states, with WIRED giving the first details of the new controller.

New controller

According to WIRED, the prototype they were given was visually similar to the current-gen Dualshock 4, but Sony’s Mark Cerny was apparently keen to point out new features.

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One such feature is “adaptive triggers”, which “offer varying levels of resistance to make shooting a bow and arrow feel like the real thing.”

There’s also an improved speaker on the controller, and new haptic feedback, as opposed to the traditional ‘rumble’ vibration.

There are some drawbacks though, namely the bigger battery and new haptic feedback causing the controller to be heavier.

PS5 confirmed

As for details about the console itself, there hasn’t been any more news in recent months, at least in an official capacity. Sony are likely keeping that under wraps until closer to launch with February being rumored as when the full reveal will occur.

Apart from finally confirming the name as the PlayStation 5, which realistically everyone expected anyway, there’s not much that we don’t already know.

The next-gen PS system will feature an SSD, ray-tracing technology and up to 8K playback as some of its headline features.

Xbox more powerful?

While where haven’t heard any official news since October 2019, a recent leak has suggested the new Xbox could be more powerful than the PS5. This would mean Microsoft could keep their title of making the world’s most powerful console, something which they aren’t shy about advertising.

It has been estimated that the Xbox Series X could have a GPU 30% more powerful than its PlayStation 5 counterpart. This is fascinating considering the initial specs suggested the two consoles would be neck and neck in terms of what’s under the hood.

It is important to note however, that this is a leak and is certainly not confirmed at this stage.

Backwards compatibility

If the new Xbox is indeed more powerful it may not affect the PlayStation all that much. Sure, there will be a number of players who want the most powerful console but they are other factors to consider. There is also the price point to consider, too.

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One of those is the widely discussed topic of backwards compatibility. Sony has several generations of games, which players still want to be able to enjoy today. Fortunately, if reports are to be believed, the PS5 will be backwards compatible with each of the PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4 – that’s a lot of nostalgia right there.

Those reports come primarily from HipHop gamer who has been proven correct in the past. He discussed the potential PlayStation 5 backwards compatibility below.

Devkit leak confirmed

This leaked image of a devkit, which many dismissed as fake due to its rather unorthodox design, is apparently actually pretty close to the real deal.

WIRED state that “on quick glance”, the real devkit “looks a lot like” the leaked version:

PS5 Pro?

There has been a rumor circulating that Sony will actually launch with two consoles – a reasonably priced PS5, and a more pricey PS5 Pro, for the more ‘hardcore’ players.

There’s no mention of this in the October 8 announcement though, so we will have to wait on more details.

A pro version would certainly make sense though, as it would perhaps allow Sony to sell the base version, complete with an expensive SSD, at a lower price point, while making up the margins with the pro version.

The PS4 Pro was a resounding success, so it would be no surprise if the repeated the model for the next-gen too.