Sony’s next generation video game console, the PlayStation 5, remains shrouded in mystery, but a new website launched Wednesday is building anticipation for eager fans.
The new site declares, “PlayStation 5 is coming,” with a holiday 2020 release date. “We’ve begun to share some of the incredible features you can expect from PlayStation 5, but we’re not quite ready to fully unveil the next generation of PlayStation,” the site states.
Fans can sign up to receive email updates on the PS5 release date, pricing and roster of games available on launch.
PlayStation gamers told CNN Business that above all, games will make or break the PS5. Sony could compel gamers to invest in the new console if the company can line up a series of exclusives.
Sony exclusives
“The PS4 is still a hot console and games look beautiful and run pretty well, so it’s up to PlayStation to reveal big reasons why the PS5 won’t just be ‘Here’s a prettier version of your games,’” said Fadel Ragheb, 23, a gamer, streamer and podcaster in Montreal, who has played on all of PlayStation’s previous consoles. “I’ll only be there on Day One if there’s a big game I feel like I need. If not, I can wait.”
Thomas Williams, 36, from Clarksville, Tennessee, describes himself as a PlayStation enthusiast who works as a welder and pipe fitter for a construction company in Nashville as his day job. He said he was anticipating the newly redesigned controllers that Sony previously teased.
“The Dualshock 5 sounds like the real deal with the adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. If developers take full advantage of the tech, it could really help make the PS5 that much more immersive,” said Williams, who runs a fan site called The PlayStation Brahs.
Like Ragheb, Williams agreed that the major selling point for the PS5 would be the games. He said he was hoping for sequels to games that have been exclusive to PlayStation like “God of War,” “Marvel’s Spider-Man” and “Horizon Zero Dawn.”
Support for older games
Yosha Riley, 21, a college student from Orlando, Florida, said he wanted to be able to play games like “Metal Gear Solid” from the original PlayStation and older “Persona” games from the PS2 on the new console.
“That is basically my wishlist. The PS4 is already everything I want feature-wise, besides the backwards compatibility,” said Riley. “So for the most part, I just want a stronger PS5. What really will win me personally over is when they start presenting their exclusives. I’m so excited to see what the Sony studios will be able to do with the extra power.”
Faster load speeds
One big hardware upgrade that the PS5 will sport is the inclusion of a solid-state drive, giving the console more storage for game files.
Piers Harding-Rolls, a director of research and analysis of games at IHS Markit, told CNN Business that adding an SSD would be one of the best hardware improvements.
“I think any feature that makes the user experience better is worth highlighting,” said Harding-Rolls. “This should help with installing games from physical copies and also starting up games to play them. Often it can take minutes to get into a game, which can be frustrating.”
What else?
Beyond the specifications and gaming content, the PlayStation 5 could also work with Sony’s cloud gaming offering PlayStation Now and other software. More details have yet to be announced.
“The baseline should be the amazing content. But the other half of the equation is how can we make this device accessible to a broader audience?” said Joost van Dreunen, managing director at SuperData, a Nielsen company that analyzes the video game industry. “Obviously the gaming is going to be great. Obviously the hardware is going to be amazing. ‘Okay, and what else?’ is going to very quickly be the question among both consumers and shareholders.”
