TOKYO — PlayStation fans had been waiting for the moment: Sony has revealed a cluctch of new details about its next-generation console, the PlayStation5.
An online presentation on Thursday attracted more than 2 million views on YouTube and Twitch. Sony Interactive Entertainment chief Jim Ryan said the PS5 will “deliver a truly new generation of transformative play experiences that will redefine expectations for what games can be.”
The Japanese entertainment conglomerate has been teasing fans by slowly introducing features of the new console. Sony had already announced that the PS5 will be compatible with ultrahigh-definition 8K display, and would use solid-state memory for faster loading.
Here are five more things we learned about the new PS5 console.
The look
After much anticipation, Sony has given fans a first glimpse of the PS5 console. The body has a two-tone, mostly white color scheme. Perhaps most striking is its V-shaped design — a nod to the fact that this is the fifth console (V represents the number five in Roman numerals).
Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Research Institute, points out that in the past, black has been the standard color for high-spec video game consoles. “The only white colored console that became widely successful was Nintendo’s Wii, as the popular belief is that core gamers like black, as it looks more sophisticated,” Yasuda said. “I think Sony wanted the console to look small and compact, which is why they chose white.”
Sony has yet to announce the dimensions of the console.
There will be two versions
There will be two types of PS5 consoles — one a standard version and the other a digital edition with no disc drive. Because of the lack of a disc drive, the digital edition cannot be used as a Blu-ray player. Fans and experts are speculating that the digital edition was made to encourage digital purchases of games.
A Spider-Man sequel is coming
Sony announced 28 game titles for its new PS5 console, including “Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales,” a sequel to its 2018 hit “Marvel’s Spider-Man,” which went on to sell more than 13 million units worldwide. Other titles include the latest edition of the “Gran Turismo” racer, as well as “Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart,” another game by Insomniac Games, the developer of the Spider-Man series.
On track for 2020 release
Sony reiterated that the PS5 is still on track to be launched during the holiday season this year — trying to dispel doubts that the outbreak of the coronavirus would delay its release. At its corporate strategy meeting last month, Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said: “Despite the coronavirus, at this moment, PS5 is on track for its end-of-the-year release, with both hardware and software development going smoothly.”
Price remains a secret
One big mystery remains: the price. Sony decided not announce what fans will have to pay for a PS5, which prompted many fans to take to social media to express their disappointment.
The decision is likely the result of competition with Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox Series X console, also scheduled for a release at the end-of-the-year holiday season. Microsoft has yet to announce a price. Ace Research’s Yasuda suggests that both companies are “waiting for the best moment to announce the price, while being cautious of the other’s moves.”
When Sony released its PlayStation4 console back in 2013, it was set at a lower price than its competitor, Xbox One. PS4 went on to sell more than 100 million units globally, more than twice those of Microsoft’s Xbox.