Sony has announced its newest PlayStation 5 and is ready to take on the market this holiday. The company has revealed some specs to give fans a brief look of just how powerful the machine will be. Looking at some of the things we already know, the new PlayStation 5 is shaping up to be one of the most revolutionary consoles in comparison to it’s predecessor, the PS4; and even next generation Xbox Series X and Xbox Series. The PS5 is set to change the playing field for consoles in the next generation.
Powerful Insides with at least 60 fps Gameplay
The PlayStation 5 will be running on a customised build of AMD’s graphics and processing architecture. The GPU is based on AMD’s RDNA 2 architecture while the CPU is based on AMD’s Zen 2 architecture with 8-cores. The new processing unit will allow the PS5 to support ray tracing making it possible to have more realistic light textures and deeper realism built into the graphics. This is complemented by 16GB of GDDR6 RAM.
It will launch with native 4K resolution support which makes sense given the current landscape of TV ownership. However, there is evidence showing the PS5 will be able to support up to 8K resolution in the future. The console is able to reach 120fps in games but most of the game are guaranteed tor run at 60fps with stable gaming performance. We will probably see a few games reaching 120fps as the console generation progresses.
Speedy Internal Storage for Quick Load Times
The console will sport a customised solution when it comes to internal storage. Sony’s customised SSD solution will be its backbone for the lightning-fast loading times the company is promising for the PlayStation 5. It will support extra storage through an easily accessible slot for an M.2 SSD chip which is disabled at launch. However, Sony PS5 architect, Mark Cerny, has stressed that support will be enabled with a firmware update at a later date. The reason behind this staggered activation is to give the team enough time to test and ensure compatibility as not all M.2 SSDs will be able to interface correctly with the PlayStation 5’s I/O controller which can lead to slowdowns or worse. Out of the box, the PS5 comes with 825GB of internal storage, it will also support USB storage.
The PS5 will come in two flavours: a digital-only version and one sporting an optical drive. The latter will come with a 4K Blu-ray drive. This will be able to play actual physical PS5 games which will be released on Blu-ray discs. It will also play movies and DVDs. As the name suggests, this will be omitted in the PS5 Digital Edition.
The hallmark of the PS5 experience is the unique, immersive experience of the new DualSense Controller. It is being lauded as a leap forward in gaming. The resistive triggers are able to convey a different, more immersive textures which bring a depth to the gaming experience that we have yet to experience.
New PSN Experience & Backward Compatibility
The PSN web and mobile store have been overhauled in October. As part of this change, PS3 games, PS vita games, avatar and themes will no longer be purchase. Sony seems to be more focused on newer things. This has entailed the removal of themes and content for the PS3 and, the short-lived, PS Vita.
Sony has also revealed the PS5 UI in an official walkthrough video hosted by the head of Sony Worldwide Studios, Hermen Hulst. The UI drops the spartan approach that it used for the PS4. In its stead, the PS5 will sport a user experience-centric interface which brings games and the PSN community to the forefront. Even the in-game overlay is feature-rich and comes with easy access to the many in-game features that the PS5 has including the ability to get friends to help you in-game.
In addition to an overhauled UI, the PS5 comes with backwards compatibility with games from previous generations of PlayStations. For now, Sony has confirmed that 99% of PS4 titles are supported by the PS5 with more to come. However, compatibility with games from the PS3 and before is still up in the air.
Pricing & Availability
Both Editions of the PlayStation 5 will be available starting on November 12, 2020, in the U.S, UK, Japan, and a few other countries, with a global release starting on November 19. The disc drive touting PS5 will run you USD $499 while the digital only edition will cost $399.
In Malaysia, the PS5 will be laucnhing on 11 December 2020 with pre-orders already underway with e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Lazada already taking orders. The PS5 Digital Edition will be available for MYR 1,869, and PS5 with an Ultra HD Blu-ray™ disc drive will be available for MYR 2,299.
