We’ve finally got concrete details on what the PlayStation 5 will be like, direct from Sony.
There’s a new PlayStation coming. Whether it’s called the PS5, PlayStation 5 or something else remains to be seen, but there’s new gaming hardware on the way from Sony, confirmed by Mark Cerny, the key architect of the next-gen console.
The PS4 consoles (both PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro) are officially reaching the end of their life cycle (that’s direct from Sony), so thoughts are inevitably turning to the PS5. And now Sony has finally started to spill the beans on what’s coming next.
Even though we don’t know exactly what to expect from the PS5 (or if that’ll even be its name), we do know that the rumors, wish lists and alarmingly convincing ‘leaked’ renders in the run up to a console reveal are a big part of the fun.
In that spirit, we’ve gathered together everything we most want to see from the PlayStation 5, based on what we now know from Cerny’s revealing interview, and what its stand-out features might be when it arrives.
[Update: PS5 will offer ‘seamless’ Remote Play cloud gaming and ‘dramatically improved graphics rendering’.]
A bespoke 8-core AMD chipset based on third generation Ryzen architecture, with a GPU taking the best bits of the Radeon Navi GPU family; a built-for-purpose SSD storage system; 3D audio; backwards compatibility with PS4 games and PSVR hardware; 8K TV support. It’s all been revealed by PlayStation top-dog Mark Cerny, the man behind the construction of the PS4, and now in charge of the next-gen console’s development.
While the look of the console remains a mystery, it internals are coming into focus, and they’re very promising. That AMD one-two-punch of CPU and GPU unlocks the powers of ray tracing, an advanced lighting technique that can bring next-level immersion to gaming visuals. It’s a Hollywood technique that’s used in big-budget CGI spectacles, putting into context the level of visual fidelity you can expect.
With 8K TV support comes far more detailed textures, and much larger ones at that. The news of a bespoke SSD drive will be heartening then – just because the games will be becoming more complex, that doesn’t mean they’ll be slower to load too. It’s estimated that the new SSD is 19 times faster than traditional SSD storage methods.
Audio will reach a new «gold standard» on PS5 too, according to Cerny, thanks to a new audio engine that will deliver immersive sound – particularly if you’re using headphones. While the details remain unclear, expect something resembling the experience seen with a Dolby Atmos set-up.
Sony’s PS5 next-generation console will also offer improved cloud gaming performance and «dramatically improved graphics rendering» power.
That’s the word straight from the company itself, as it showed off a sneak peak during a corporate strategy presentation.
In a statement sent out following the presentation, Sony said the «two keywords for the future direction of PlayStation are ‘immersive’ and ‘seamless'», with the ‘immersive’ experience «created by dramatically increased graphics rendering speeds, achieved through the employment of further improved computational power and a customized ultra-fast, broadband SSD».
The company also reinforced the importance of its cloud-gaming plans with Playstation Now, and somewhat surprisingly doubled down on its underused Remote Play feature, saying the «evolution» of this would in the future «provide a seamless game experience anytime, anywhere».
Remote Play is already available as part of the PS4 package, enabling you to stream a game direct from the console to a computer, smartphone, tablet or PS Vita handheld console. But Sony says that going forward it will be «leveraging the latest computing, streaming, cloud, and 5G technologies» to allow it, and the performance of PlayStation Now, to improve.
Sony also showed off a demo of the custom SSD storage system that will be employed in its next-gen machine, again hammering home how it expects super-fast load times to improve the player experience:
It appears to be the same demo that PlayStation hardware architect Mark Cerny revealed back in April, with Sony suggesting then that the SSD in use is 19 times faster than a standard issue one.
The meeting comes off the back of two key pieces of the puzzle for the PS5 being revealed – firstly, that the next-gen machine will make use of a third-generation, 8-core AMD Ryzen CPU built with 7-nanometer Zen 2 microarchitecture, alongside a customized Radeon Navi GPU capable of ray tracing, and a surprising partnership with Microsoft to bolster the PlayStation Now cloud infrastructure.
However, Sony remains tight-lipped about some specific plans for the PS5: the PlayStation 5 release date remains a mystery, for instance. 2019 has been ruled out, but it will definitely be revealed in the coming months, thanks to Sony Interactive Entertainment’s President and CEO Shawn Layden confirming as much in an interview with Golem.de. In addition, Sony president Kenichiro Yoshida had also previously confirmed the company is working on a next-generation console in an interview with the Financial Times. It’s been four years in the making already.
Back in May, Sony Interactive CEO John Kodera revealed to the Wall Street Journal that the PlayStation 5 would not be releasing until at least 2021. That now seems a reasonable guess, debuking a report from Ace Securities that claimed the PS5 could release as soon as Christmas 2019 — earlier than the Xbox Two.
One such rumor is that the PS5 could be backwards compatible with the PS4, PS3, PS2, and original PlayStation, meaning its games library could stretch right back to the glory days of the mid 90s. The PS4 element of that rumor is now confirmed, as well as PSVR support. The rest of Sony’s vintage catalogue? That remains to be seen.
With no official word yet on a PlayStation 5 release date, and Sony officially confirming it won’t be at E3 2019, it’s difficult to pin down exactly when we might get to see a PS5 console.
Some analysts are predicting the PlayStation 5 release date could be around 2020 or 2021, for example, while others say 2019 – so just the three-year window, then. With 2019 now ruled out by the Wired interview, 2020 seems the most realistic launch window.
Speaking to GamingBolt, Michael Pachter said that though he thinks the PS5 will be a half-step and will be backwards-compatible with the PS4 Pro, he doesn’t think we’ll see it until «2019 or 2020, but probably 2019». This speculation now seems entirely wrong – the early specs suggested by Cerny suggest a significant hardware leap forward, with the 2019 date now ruled out.
More recently Pachter clarified this claim, saying that Sony would most likely release the new console in 2020. He added that at this time he thinks the PS4 Pro will become the base model PlayStation and will see a reduction in price.
Meanwhile a recent report from Kotaku’s Jason Schreier backs up this thinking. He spoke to a number of developers about likely release dates with most of the conversations pointing to a 2020 release. He writes: «There is information about the PlayStation 5 floating around at both first- and third-party companies, but it’s far more limited than it would be if the console’s release was imminent.»
Sony’s new CEO, Kenichiro Yoshida, also recently released a three-year business plan for the company which predicted the company’s profits would dip in the run up to 2021. This is the kind of dip that may come as the PlayStation 4 reaches market saturation, before the launch of the PS5.
So mark your calendars for 2020 and 2021 then…
Although we’re hideously impatient for news of a PlayStation 5 release date, we can’t fault Sony for taking another few years to really milk the last of the PS4, given its huge and loyal player base. After all, the PS4 Pro is still relatively new to the market and its direct competitor, the Microsoft’s Xbox One X, is an even more recent release.
Thanks to recent leaks, we already know Microsoft is working on the next Xbox, which is likely to be announced at E3 2019. So it’s likely Sony is also deep into development of the PS5.
If we’re honest, we can’t really see any urgent need to start a new generation right now. And given Microsoft’s growing commitment to backwards compatibility, we think it’s key for Sony to really think carefully about its next steps.
Despite Yasuda’s report, a two to three-year wait make a lot more sense to us. However, it could be Sony is trying to throw Microsoft a sucker-punch from left-field by releasing earlier than expected.
In addition, Slightly Mad Studios has announced it is working on a high-powered next-generation console called the ‘Mad Box’. It’s pedigree remains to be seen, but more interestingly is the reveal of Google Stadia – a streaming-focussed gaming service from the kings of the internet. With streaming undoubtedly set to be a key component of any console going forward, Google’s expertise in internet infrastructure it them a dark horse entrant into the gaming race.
Solid news on the PlayStation 5 is starting to come into shape, but as always, we do have rumors about what could be coming down the line – and we’ve collected and assessed them right here.
Sony’s cloud streaming patentAccording to a recently accepted United States Patent and Trademark Office patent (spotted Digital Trends) filed by Sony back in 2014, the company is working on a «system for combining recorded application state with application streaming interactive video output».
In other words, a cloud gaming service which could rival the Google Stadia (or a cloud streaming new Xbox) and could potentially launch with the PS5.
Players would be able to stream a game through a hosting server. So if you have a device that connects to the internet, be that a mobile device, console, or PC, you can connect to that server and the game you’re wanting to play will be streamed to your monitor or screen, allowing can play using your preferred input device. Imagine Netflix for gaming.
Rather than downloading a game, it is instead streamed directly to your device and you would play real-time, cutting the need to delete games to make storage room on your device and reducing the hardware requirements — although you wouldn’t technically own the title.
Sony also points out that this cloud gaming service would benefit game developers as the service would prevent piracy (as the games exist only on the server) and developers would be able to design games to specifically utilize the service’s capabilities.
But how would player’s pay for this service? Sony details two particular models in its patent. The first would see Sony itself collecting a subscription fee from users, then paying royalties to the developers. The second sees the developers themselves collecting a subscription fee from players, then paying Sony a fee for using the hosting service. However, neither model specified a price range.
We expect Sony would implement this cloud gaming service alongside the PlayStation 5, although the company hasn’t specified if this is the case.
The next Xbox will be more powerful than the PS5 – according to industry insiders According to a tweet by reporter Ainsley Bowden (via T3), «very reliable» sources for Xbox and Microsoft information have confirmed Microsoft’s flagship next generation console (codenamed the ‘Xbox Anaconda’) will be more powerful than the PS5.
Check out the tweet below:
Bowden’s claim hasn’t been confirmed, so it’s worth taking it with a pinch of salt. However when asked by a speculative Twitter user about the sources of this information, Bowden replied that the informants «have been accurate for years on leaks».
Patent suggests backwards compatibilityAccording to a newly-uncovered patent, the PlayStation 5 may be capable of emulating the PlayStation 4, PS3, PS2 and original PlayStation, aka the PSX as well as souped up next-gen titles. Mark Cerny’s interview has now confirmed that, at the very least, PS4 and existing PSVR titles will work across generations.
Kenichiro Yoshida confirms next-genIn an interview with the Financial Times, Sony president and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said: “At this point, what I can say is it’s necessary to have a next-generation hardware.
