Sony is officially leading the race to release the latest and greatest video gaming system. That’s exciting news for the more than 90 million PS4 owners. While the company hasn’t yet revealed the PlayStation 5 console, Sony has shared quite a bit of information about its upcoming release.
The new PlayStation will be much more than just an upgraded version of the PlayStation 4 or PS4 Pro. But you will likely have to wait until 2020 to get your hands on it.
Mark Cerny, the lead system architect for the new console, hasn’t yet given a name to the console the company has been working on for four years, so for now, we’ll call it PlayStation 5. When discussing the system, Cerny referred to it as the “next-gen console.”
Undeniably, the name is perhaps the least enticing detail gamers are hoping to uncover. So let’s get into it. Here’s what we know about the PlayStation 5 so far.
Newest PlayStation Video Game Console
Cerny enthusiastically revealed, in a conference room at Sony’s headquarters in Foster City, California, that he combined the desires of developers’ and his own wishes for gaming into a revolutionary system.
First, and not too surprisingly, the PlayStation console will have more powerful CPU and GPU to further enhance the visual effects and graphics. There will also be a boost in the size and speed of the system’s memory.
The next-generation console will operate with an AMD chip. The CPU is in view of AMD’s third-generation Ryzen line and includes eight 7nm Zen 2 cores. The GPU will allow for ray tracing to enhance 3D visuals, essential creating graphics that look more realistic than ever. If Sony’s new gaming console can manage ray tracing, it will be the first to do so successfully.
The graphics aren’t the only thing that will dramatically improve. The system’s AMD chip also has a custom unit for 3D audio. According to Cerny, the goal was to use “significant amounts of hardware horsepower” to dramatically enhance the console’s audio capabilities. To fully experience the audio enhancements, Cerny explained that headphone audio will be the “gold standard.”
PlayStation 5 Hard Drive – Faster Gaming
If the new info is to be believed, this is what load times could look like on the PlayStation 5. 👀 pic.twitter.com/9P7TWrBCxt
— IGN (@IGN) April 17, 2019
According to Cerny, when Sony developers first started discussing the next generation game console, solid-state drives, SSDs, were among the most desired aspects. External SSDs are available for the PS4 to purportedly improve load times but will be integrated into the software of the new PlayStation. The SSDs allow for a much faster gaming experience without affecting the visual quality.
Sony hasn’t yet revealed who will make the SSD or too many other exact details, but Cerny did say it has a higher bandwidth than any available PC SSD.
New PlayStation Details
Unfortunately, Sony isn’t sharing much about the services or other features of the new PlayStation, including how much it will cost.
What we do know is that the new game console won’t be a download-only system and will be backward-compatible with games for the PS4. But that’s the extent of the information Sony is willing to share for the time being. For the first time, Sony won’t be holding a keynote at E3 in June, which is sad news for those who were hoping for more information to come out at the annual games show.
Meanwhile, PlayStation fans will have to wait patiently as Sony developers consider how to enhance every aspect of the gaming experience. Cerny promises their vision will become clear as we get closer to the launch date. But even that is still a mystery.
