PS5: What We Know So Far - 'Future Of Gaming' included

The hype is real; after all, it has been 7 years since the launch of PS4. The PS5 (or PlayStation 5) is the next-generation PlayStation console, with a release date set for ‘Holiday 2020‘(most popular time for Game Titles). Sony has revealed Dual Sense wireless remote, hardware, console design, accessories and PS5 Gaming Titles till now (Future of the gaming event included in this article). PS5 has a specialized SSD, custom AMD GPU capable of ray tracing, backward compatibility with most PS4 and PS VR games, and support for both downloadable and disc-based games. PS5 will go head-to-head with Xbox series X which is also set to release in Holiday 2020.

DualSense PS5 controller

DualShock 4 wireless controller is still considered the best controller yet by some. Well, this is the upgrade; Sony claims that they have kept much of what we already love about DualShock 4 intact. Dual Sense controller includes a slew of impressive-sounding features like haptic feedback, adaptive triggers (L2 and R2 buttons) and a built-in mic. There is no “Share” button on DualSense which DualShock 4 had. It’s not going away; There’s a new “Create” button feature with additional means for players to share and create content with others. Adaptive triggers can change the resistance to the player as necessary – Like you can feel the tension of your action, like when drawing a bow to shoot an arrow. The DualSense has strong haptic feedback which together with an improved controller speaker is intended to give better in-game feedback. The built-in microphone will enable players to chat with friends without a headset – ideal for a quick conversation. There’s a radical departure from the previous controller when it comes to design. It features a new two-toned design, unlike the previous generations which had a single-colour.

PS5 Quick Questions:

When will it release? – “Holiday 2020” in the US, says Sony, so between October and December 2020.

What can I play on it? – Only a few titles have been confirmed as of now, but expect all of Sony’s big franchises along with other major Gaming Titles. It will also be backwards compatible with a huge swathe of the PS4’s game catalogue.

Will PS5 have VR? Oh yes. The next-gen console will be compatible with current PSVR hardware.

When will PS5 be available to play? Sony has confirmed that the release date is not currently delayed by the coronavirus and reiterated that the PS5 is still on course for a “Holiday 2020” release.

PS5 Specs

PS5 V PS4 Bandwidth — image source: Sony

PlayStation 5 will be running on an AMD CPU chip that’s based on the third generation of AMD’s Ryzen line. It’ll be an eight-core, custom-made, beast based on the company’s new 7nm Zen 2 microarchitecture. The CPU is a custom variant of AMD Radeon’s Navi family, and will support ray tracing – It is an advanced method of illuminating 3D environments. It also features a new audio technology called Tempest Engine – PS5’s new Tempest Engine will support hundreds of sound sources, meaning it will appear that sound could be coming from hundreds of different directions as you hear it in a game. It also boasts a custom SSD to increase data input/output rates for fast loading times and larger bandwidth. This speed allows games to be more immersive and to support 8K. It totally blows PS4 and PS4 Pro out of the water when it comes to hardware:

	PlayStation 5	PlayStation 4	PlayStation 4 Pro
CPU	8-core, 16 thread, up to 3.5Ghz (variable frequency)	8 Jaguar Cores, 1.6GHz	8 Jaguar Cores, 2.1GHz
Memory	16GB GDDR6	8GB GDDR5 + 256 MB DDR3	8GB GDDR5 + 1 GB DDR3
GPU	36 CUs at 2.23GHz, 10.3 TFLOPs (variable frequency)	18 CUs at 800MHz, 1.84 TFLOPS	36 CUs at 911Mhz, 4.2 TFLOPS
Internal Storage	Custom 825GB SSD	500GB, 1TB HDD	1TB HDD
External Storage	NVMe SSD slot, USB HDD	2.5-inch HDD, USB HDD	2.5-inch HDD, USB HDD
Optical Drive Video Output	Ultra HD Blu-ray 4K at 120Hz, 8K	Blu-ray 1080p	Blu-ray 4K
Controller Input	DualSense controller	DualShock 4, PlayStation Move, PlayStation Vita	DualShock 4, PlayStation Move, PlayStation Vita

Specs Comparison between PS5, PS4, and PS4 pro

Xbox Series X and PS5 Spec comparison

Xbox Series X		PlayStation 5
8x zen 2 cores at 3.8 GHz (3.6 GHz with SMT)	CPU	8x zen 2 cores at 3.5 GHz (variable frequency)
12 TFLOPS, 52 CUs at 1.825 GHz, Custom RDNA 2	GPU	10.3 TFLOPs,36 CUs at 2.23GHz (variable frequency)
16GB GDDR6	Memory	16GB GDDR6
1TB Custom NVMe SSD	Internal Storage	Custom 825 GB SSD
1TB Expansion Card	External Storage	NVMe SSD Slot
4K UHD Blu-Ray Drive	Optical Drive	4K UHD Blu-Ray Drive

In terms of specs like teraflops and both the CPU and GPU, the Xbox Series X seems more robust. Even though it’s slightly weaker, the capabilities of the PS5’s extremely fast SSD is still impressing game developers more. Since people were comparing the two popular consoles by specs, here’s what Matt Philips (Director – Big Evil Corporation)has to say:

As a 15 year+ games programmer with 24 triple-A titles released on every Nintendo, Microsoft, and PlayStation machine under the sun, neither I nor anyone else in my field has *ever* used "teraflop" as a unit of measurement of any kind. Just drop the word, it's utterly meaningless
— Matt Phillips (@bigevilboss) March 18, 2020

That being said, if Sony can court developers and get some truly groundbreaking games on its next-gen console, people may start to notice that a spec sheet isn’t everything in a console war.

‘The Future Of Gaming’ Event Summary

Sony finally gave fans a substantial look at what they can expect from its upcoming gaming console with ‘The Future of Gaming’ event. The Event started with Trailers and PS5 Gameplays of upcoming Game Titles for PS5. Graphics were really immersive and breath-taking on the footage shown – Since we have seen it on 30 FPS, actual gameplay will be even better. I have added the Game Titles confirmed today as well as previously confirmed Titles in the list below. The event ended with a glimpse of PS5 console and other accessories – DualSense Controller, DualSense Station (charger for the controller), HD Camera, Pulse 3D Wireless Headset, Media Remote.

Pulse 3D^TM wireless headset – offering 3D audio support and dual noise-cancelling microphones
HD Camera – featuring dual 1080p lenses for gamers to broadcast themselves along with their epic gameplay moments
Media Remote – remote control with a built-in microphone to navigate movies and streaming services with ease
PS5 Digital Edition – This is the digital-only version of PS5 without the support of 4K Blu-ray drive
DualSense^TM Charging Station – for convenient charging of two DualSense^TM Wireless Controllers

Gaming Titles confirmed for PS5

PS5 will be backwards compatible with PS4 games. Since PS5 is based partly on the PS4’s architecture, it will be able to run PS4 software. Sony has said that, of the top 100 most played PS4 games, most of them will be compatible with PS5 at launch. Here is the list of Game Titles that are confirmed for PS5: