While the news about the next-generation PlayStation console was around for a while, there were very few concrete details to share. However, a recent Wired interview with Sony’s CEO Jim Ryan and system architect Mark Cerny gave us a proper peek behind the curtain and we can finally say for certain – PlayStation 5 is coming. The next-generation console will be released for ‘holidays 2020’.
In our previous blog post regarding this topic, we’ve already talked some technical details which should make PlayStation 5 the most powerful console ever made. It will boast better performance and drastically reduce load times giving a lot of room for game developers to work with. In addition to this, the new hardware will also allow players to customize their game installation process. This means that players will be able to install only portions of the game they want to play – multiplayer, singleplayer and so on. So, the new console will enable users to customize their console’s memory and conserve space for portions of the game they’re really interested in.
Another interesting bit of the new interview was dedicated to ray-tracing technology. According to Cerny, PlayStation 5’s ray-tracing will be enabled not by a software-level fix but with ray-tracing acceleration in the GPU hardware. So, if you ever had any doubts about ray-tracing, toss them aside, the next generation of games will have plenty of light reflections.
One more noteworthy thing from the interview is the new DualShock 5 controller which will “reimagine how the sense of touch can add to the immersion”. Jim Ryan said that there are two key innovations coming with the new DualShock:
“First, we’re adopting haptic feedback to replace the ‘rumble’ technology found in controllers since the 5th generation of consoles. With haptics, you truly feel a broader range of feedback, so crashing into a wall in a race car feels much different than making a tackle on the football field. You can even get a sense for a variety of textures when running through fields of grass or plodding through mud.
The second innovation is something we call adaptive triggers, which have been incorporated into the trigger buttons (L2/R2). Developers can program the resistance of the triggers so that you feel the tactile sensation of drawing a bow and arrow or accelerating an off-road vehicle through rocky terrain. In combination with the haptics, this can produce a powerful experience that better simulates various actions. Game creators have started to receive early versions of the new controller, and we can’t wait to see where their imagination goes with these new features at their disposal.”
All of this is just the tip of the iceberg. We suggest you check out the original interview if you’re into gaming technicalities. We’re mainly interested in next-gen games and Sony teased that Bluepoint Games, the studio behind remakes such as Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Shadow of the Colossus is already working on their next-gen game which will be one of the PlayStation 5’s launch titles. Let’s hope it’s something really original…
For now, we have to stay patient. PlayStation 5 only has a rough release window without any concrete date or an estimated console pricing for that matter. We’ll keep an eye out for more news.
