When Sony and Microsoft released their respective PlayStation 4 and Xbox One devices seven years ago, the devices were designed to blend into our living…
When Sony and Microsoft released their respective PlayStation 4 and Xbox One devices seven years ago, the devices were designed to blend into our living rooms, with nearly all-black rectangular and parallelogram designs.
When the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X land in stores later this year, they’ll be hard to ignore. The new Xbox is shaped like a monolith, with a striking neon green fan at its top.
The PS5 meanwhile has two white panels sandwiching a black side. The device looks like it came out of one of Sony’s own futuristic games, complete with dramatic blue lights seemed designed to glow against the white panels.
« We wanted to do something that was bold and daring almost, » said Sony’s PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan in an interview with CNET following the company’s reveal Thursday. « We wanted something forward facing and future facing, something for the 2020s. »
Sony’s PS5 reveal
comes mere months before the device is expected to hit store shelves, in time for the holiday shopping season. For both Sony and Microsoft, the next generation consoles offer an opportunity to increase the visual spectacles of their games. The worlds Sony showed off Thursday varied from bustling cities to lush green pastures filled with seemingly endless blades of grass, trees and leaves.
But visuals can only get game makers so far. Sony’s also bringing out new sequels to fan favorite games, such as its hit action adventure Marvel’s Spider-Man from 2018, and futuristic role playing game Horizon: Zero Dawn from 2017. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Horizon Forbidden West will pick up where their predecessors left off while also bringing in new characters. Though the new Horizon game doesn’t have a launch date, Spider-Man will be released alongside the PS5.
The PS5’s design is meant to demonstrate Sony’s belief that the technology inside and the games that run on it are as eye-catching as the outside you see. Ryan uses buzzy phrases like « quantum leap over the current generation » and mentions games will be « transformational in the how they look, sound and feel.
