Sony has revealed the first details of its next video game console to Wired. While the machine does not have a name yet, the company will likely dub it the PlayStation 5.
Mark Cerny, who was the lead system architect for the PlayStation 4 and is now working on the new console, told Wired that the new console will not be coming out in 2019. It will represent a big upgrade from its predecessor, including a new chip from AMD, Intel’s rival for CPUs. The machine will support ray tracing, a graphics technique that has in-game lighting project itself and bounce off of surfaces as a multitude of rays, just like light behaves in our world.
Sony also said that the PS5 will include an SSD hard drive. This will make game loading times much faster on the new machine. The console will also support 8K resolutions, although that’s something that most modern TVs do not yet feature. But by the time the PS5 launches and in the immediate time after, 8K should become more prevalent.
Many of these features will make the PS5 comparable to current high-end gaming PCs, which are the only machines that can support ray tracing at the moment. The PS5 will also get a big sound upgrade with 3D audio, which should make for a more immersive experience. It will make audio feel more like something that surrounds you instead of coming from a source like a TV speaker.
June 5th: The AI Audit in NYC
Join us next week in NYC to engage with top executive leaders, delving into strategies for auditing AI models to ensure fairness, optimal performance, and ethical compliance across diverse organizations. Secure your attendance for this exclusive invite-only event.
The PS5 will be backward compatible with PS4 games. It will still include a disk drive, so Sony isn’t ready to make the dive into an all digital device yet.
The PlayStation legacy
The PlayStation brand is one of the most successful in all of gaming. The first PlayStation launched in Japan in 1994, with the U.S. release following in 1995. It sold over 102 million machines, establishing Sony as the new market leader over Nintendo. The PlayStation 2 remains the most successful gaming console ever, moving about 155 systems.
The PlayStation 4 has also been a success for Sony. It launched in 2013 and has since sold over 94 million console. Sony released the PlayStation 4 Pro in 2016, an upgraded version of the system that helped extend the PS4’s lifespan.
The PS4 is now entering its twilight years as Sony gets ready to rev up the PS5, but the system is not done yet. Big games like The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima are sill coming to console. Although it is possible that those titles will make their way over to the PS5 in an upgraded form as well.
