After a long period of speculation, some information regarding the PlayStation 5 (PS5) was officially unveiled by Sony during an online event held early this morning (Vietnam time).
At the event, the design and style of the PlayStation 5 were officially announced by Sony. While previous console generations from Sony typically had two distinct color options (black and white), the PlayStation 5 will feature only a single version with a black-and-white combination. This design closely matches the DualSense controller of the PlayStation 5 that was revealed a few months ago.
The PS5 has a pretty “cool” design, with a black-and-white tone. Sony will include several accessories such as a remote control, a charging dock for the controller, a camera, and wireless headphones.
In terms of appearance, the PlayStation 5 has a modern look, with a white outer shell that is slightly curved, surrounding a black “box” in the center. Similar to its competitor, the Xbox Series X, the PlayStation 5 can be placed vertically or horizontally on a shelf. According to images released by Sony, the cooling and ventilation openings of the PlayStation 5 are located on the top of the console, while the power button, USB-A, and USB-C ports are positioned on the front.
Notably, Sony’s latest console generation will feature two versions: a Standard Edition and a Digital Edition, which does not include a 4K Blu-ray drive, specifically for gamers who frequently purchase digital games on the PS Store. Compared to the Standard Edition, the Digital Edition is slightly thinner due to the absence of the 4K Blu-ray drive.
Standard Version (left) and Digital Edition (right). The Digital Edition is expected to be cheaper than the Standard Version.
Contrary to many predictions before the reveal, the price and release date of the PlayStation 5 were not disclosed by Sony during the event early this morning. According to predictions from many tech experts, the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition might be priced lower than the Standard Edition.
Remember a few months ago, the specifications of the PlayStation 5 were also announced by Sony. This console is equipped with an 8-core Zen 2 architecture CPU along with a custom GPU based on AMD’s RDNA 2 architecture. Notably, this AMD GPU will support Ray Tracing technology, similar to the Nvidia RTX graphics cards on PC, as confirmed by Sony. Additionally, the latest PlayStation generation is equipped with 16GB of GDDR6 RAM, compared to 8GB of GDDR5 on the PS4.
DualSense Controller of PlayStation 5
Furthermore, the PlayStation 5 will utilize a custom SSD with a capacity of up to 825GB. This NVME SSD has a maximum data read speed of up to 5.5GB/s, completely replacing the traditional HDD which had a very slow speed that was previously equipped on the PS3 and PS4.
According to Sony, the high-speed read/write SSD on the PS5 will shorten the waiting time for games to load data to just a few tens of seconds, or even a few seconds. This “almost instant” game loading will alleviate many tasks for developers, allowing them to focus more resources on maximizing the visual quality of the games.
A series of blockbuster exclusive games revealed, including a free copy of GTA V
Also at the event, a series of games exclusively for the PlayStation 5 were announced by Sony. Gamers will experience exclusive titles produced by Sony-affiliated studios such as Horizon Forbidden West (the sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn), Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (the sequel to Marvel’s Spider-Man), Gran Turismo 7, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Project Athia, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Returnal, Astro’s Playroom…
Some notable multi-platform titles will also appear on PlayStation 5, including Resident Evil Village (the 8th installment of the horror game series Resident Evil), NBA 2K21, Ghostwire: Tokyo, Hitman 3, Deathloop.
Notably, the launch of PlayStation 5 also witnessed the return of some once-popular titles. For instance, the case of Demon’s Souls, where the remake of this action role-playing game exclusive to PS3 will appear on PlayStation 5. Meanwhile, the blockbuster game GTA V, which is 7 years old, will also have a version dedicated to PlayStation 5, with performance and graphics upgrades to leverage the hardware power of the latest PlayStation generation.
Notably, gamers will be able to play GTA Online – the online component of GTA V for free during the first three months after the release of PlayStation 5. However, players will need to subscribe to PlayStation Plus to download this component, according to Sony.
*Some other images of PlayStation 5:
Source: The Verge