Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) on Thursday unwrapped two editions of its upcoming gaming console, the Sony PlayStation 5 (PS5) along with a host of games compatible with the platform. A wholly subsidiary of Sony Corporation, SIE, the company responsible for the PlayStation products at a virtual launch event showcased its next generation line-up ahead of its launch in the holiday season. The company said that the PS5 would be available in two models including a standard model that features a Ultra High-definition (UHD) Blue-ray disc drive and a Digital Edition without the disc drive.
Sony Unwraps PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition
The company in a release said that the two models will provide identical gaming experience to users despite the noticeable changes in the design.
“With PlayStation 5, we are making a significant leap to deliver a truly new generation of transformative play experiences that will redefine expectations for what games can be,” Jim Ryan, president and CEO of SIE, said in the release. “Worlds will be richer and more beautiful, they’ll captivate your senses in ways you didn’t think possible, and you’ll be able to experience them much more seamlessly, with lightning fast loading.”
The company did not provide a launch date nor the price of the PS5 editions, however, SIE said that more details about the PS5 ecosystem will be available closer to the launch.
“Today’s showcase is just a glimpse of what’s to come in the next generation,” Ryan said in the release.
In March, the company said that the PS5 gaming consoles will be powered by an eight core 64-bit AMD Ryzen Zen 2 platform with a variable frequency up to 3.5Ghz. The consoles will be equipped with the AMD Radeon RDNA 2-based graphics engine with a variable frequency up to 2.23 Ghz. Further, the PS5 will have an 16GB GDDR6 RAM and a variant with at least 825GB of SSD storage.
However, the company on Thursday announced a range of accessories for the PS5 consoles including Pulse 3D wireless headset, HD camera, media remote and a DualSense charging station for the DualSense wireless controllers. Similar to the PS5 consoles, the company did not announce the pricing for its accessories.
PS5 Games Steal the Spotlight
While the PS5 was unwrapped towards the end of the virtual event, the PS5 games were the focus for the majority of the event.
Grand Theft Auto, one of the biggest gaming titles, is scheduled to land on the PS5 platform in the second half of 2021. Rockstar, the developer of the Grand Theft Auto will be introducing “enhanced and expanded versions” of Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online for the PS5 platform.
“With a range of technical improvements, visual upgrades and performance enhancements, GTA V & GTA Online will take full advantage of the PS5 hardware and its new features, making the game more beautiful and more responsive than ever,” SIE said in the release.
Additionally, a standalone version of Grand Theft Auto Online will be launched with Rockstar and SIE enabling free access to all PS5 users.
Several other titles were also announced for the PS5 at the launch event on Thursday including the titles from PlayStation studios like Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Gran Turismo 7 and Horizon Forbidden West.
Astro’s Playroom, Demon’s Souls, Destruction All Stars, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Returnal and Sackboy A Big Adventure are some of the titles developed by SIE in partnership with second-party developers for the PS5.
SIE also announced PS5 games from third party developers including Bugsnax, DEATHLOOP, Ghostwire:Tokyo, Godfall, Goodbye Volcano High, HITMAN 3, JETT : The Far Shore, Kena: Bridge of the Spirits and Little Devil Inside.
Further, NBA 2K21, Oddworld Soulstorm, Pragmata, Project Athia, Resident Evil Village, Solar Ash, Stray, Tribes of Midgard and The Pathless are other third party PS5 titles.
Analyst Concerned About PS 5 Design
Following SIE’s unwrap of the PS5 gaming consoles, Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at the Ace Research Institute in Japan said that the firm was concerned about the design of the PS5. Yasuda said that white consoles were released in the past on multiple occasions but only Wii was successful with the white design.
Further, Yasuda said that SIE will have troubles selling the device based on the software side alone. While Sony did not reveal a price point for the PS5, Yasuda expects the standard variant to be sold at US$499.99 in the US which roughly translates to Rs 37,990.
It has to be noted that Sony’s key rival Microsoft is also scheduled to launch its next generation gaming console for the holiday season later in the year.
