PS5 Console Guide
The PS5 is the next generation of Playstation games consoles created by Sony. The PS5 will be superseding the PS4, one of the best selling consoles of the last generation. This guide will tell you all you need to know about the up and coming console. This article will be updated as and when there is new information about the PS5. Equally, if you are interested in the new Xbox Series X/S, click here.
- Release Date
- Where to Pre-Order and Purchase Your PS5
- Price
- Hardware
- Appearance
- PS5 Launch Titles
- Backwards Compatibility
- Other Next Generation Consoles
Release Date
The release date for the PS5 has finally been given as November 12th 2020 for the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. For the rest of the world, the release date is November 19th. In comparison, the Xbox Series X and S are both being released globally on the 10th November 2020.
Where to Pre-Order and Purchase Your PS5
Pre-orders where supposed to go live on the 17th September, however some retailers jumped the gun after seeing that they were already live on the PS5 website. Pre-orders sold out within hours, if not minutes. Consoles seem to have been purchased by bots and resellers with the PS5 already appearing on eBay for $850 and more. Sony has already apologised on Twitter for how badly the pre-orders went.
If you were unsuccessful, here is where you can try to pre-order or purchase your PS5 when they become available. Sony has said that it intends to release more stock before launch.
Price
The PS5's price has finally been revealed. As there are two consoles, there are two price points. The standard PS5 will cost $499 (£449), and the digital version will cost $399 (£349).
Comparatively the Xbox Series X will cost $499 (£449) and the Xbox Series S $299 (£249).
Hardware
Whilst the release date has not been fully divulged, Sony have released some of the key specs for the PS5:
- CPU: 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz (variable frequency)
- GPU: 10.28TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz (variable frequency)
- GPU Architecture: AMD Radeon RDNA 2-based graphics engine
- System Memory: 16GB GDDR6 / 256=bit
- Memory Bandwidth: 448GB/s
- Internal Storage: Custom 825GB SSD
- IO Throughput: 5.5GB/s (Raw), Typical 8-9GB/s (compressed)
- Expandable Storage: NVMe SSD Slot
- External Storage: USB HDD Support
- Optical Drive: 4K UHD Blu-Ray Drive (up to 100GB / disc)
- Supports: 4K 120Hz TVs, 8K TVs, VRR (specified by HDMI ver.2.1)
Note: The non-digital PS5 has the same specs, it just does not have the optical drive.
Appearance
Sony has finally released the first images of the new PS5. There are two versions of the PS5, one with an 4K Blu-Ray drive and the other a purely Digital Edition. The latter version is considerably slimmer than the regular model. The PS5 is designed to both stand vertically or horizontally. In the images you can see large vents for heat dissipation.
Photos of the new DualSense controllers have also been released.
PS5 Launch Titles
The titles that are scheduled to be launched at the time of the PS5 release have not been released yet. Possible games that will be released on the PS5 are listed below, whether or not these will be available upon the PS5’s immediate release is yet to be determined.
- Assassins Creed Valhalla
- Battlefield 6.
- Beyond Good and Evil 2.
- Cyberpunk 2077.
- Deathloop.
- Dragon Age 4.
- Final Fantasy 7: Remake.
- Ghostwire: Tokyo.
- God of War 2: Ragnorok (release date - 2021)
- Hogwarts Legacy (coming 2021)
Backwards Compatibility
Sony have announced backwards compatibility for the PS5 with users possibly being able to play around 100 PS4 games from launch.
Other Next Generation Consoles
If you want to compare the PS5 with the up and coming Xbox Series X and Series S, you will can find more information here.
Photos: Sony / CD Projekt Red
