Many console fans are undoubtedly looking forward to the launch of PlayStation 5 – it surely is an event no gamer worth his salt will want to miss next year.
Since the first details about Sony’s new machine came out back in April, many have been looking forward for additional details from Sony – namely whether the upcoming console will actually be called the PlayStation 5, and a more specific launch date too.
Well, thanks to a recent post on the company’s blog, we now know that Sony’s next console will indeed be called PlayStation 5 (or PS5 for short), although for many people this was a given… After the massive success that the PS4 has been, not calling its successor the PS5 would have been an act of craziness by the Japanese company.
Also, as expected this new console will be ready on shelves for the 2020 holiday season, just like its predecessor the PS4 was, meaning it could end up being a nice present for many people the world over next Christmas.
Of course, as can also be expected the PlayStation 5 will be a huge improvement over its predecessor, boasting 4K support, a lightning fast hard drive (of the SSD variety) and a vastly improved controller too as Sony recently explained on the PlayStation blog.
What’s interesting about the new DualShock controller is the new haptic feedback. This is a huge improvement on the rumble tech featured in PlayStation controllers for years, and different actions in games (such as crashing into a wall while driving a race car or tackling an opponent in a sports game) will now feel very different according to Sony. The new feedback will even make you feel the difference between walking on different surfaces (such as mud or grass) in games, which sure sounds interesting…
Also, the PS5’s controllers new triggers are adaptative, in order to give players the right sensation when, for instance, drawing a bow in a game. Game developers will now be able to program the resistance of the triggers, meaning you’ll have to make more or less effort when performing certain actions in games.
Actually, according to Sony, game devs are already messing around with the new PS5 controller, so it’ll sure be interesting to see what they come up with when the first PS5 games arrive.
Aside from discussing the PS5 controller, Sony also briefly mentioned several of its upcoming PlayStation exclusives, but neglected to mention whether any of these games (Death Stranding, The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima) will be getting PS5-specific versions.
You will sure be able to play any of them on the PS5 though – unlike the PS4, the new PlayStation console will be fully backwards compatible, surely a plus for what’s looking like it could be another great addition to the PlayStation family next year. It remains to be seen, though, whether Sony will get the upper hand on Microsoft this time, and whether the new machine will take the lead in the next generation as the PS4 did in this one, becoming one of Sony’s top-selling consoles of all time.
Note: The image accompanying this article shows a PS4 controller.
DualShock 4 controller (Sony Interactive Entertainment)