Everything about PlayStation 5

Many a person got worried and inpatient when Sony didn't immediately respond to Microsoft's Xbox Series X information blowout earlier this year, but the Japanese company has caught up with a whole load of streams, blog posts and stuff like that about the PlayStation 5 this summer. The only bad thing about such an approach is that some of you might have missed some details about what awaits us when the PlayStation 5 launches on November 12 in North America, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea before making its way here to Europe and other places in the world on November 19. That's why I've decided to gather what I consider the most important details in this article. Please let me know if you have further questions, and I'll continue to update it in the coming weeks and months.

Specifications

CPU: 8 cores with variable frequency up to 3.5 GHz custom AMD Ryzen Zen 2
GPU: AMD Radeon RDNA 2-based graphics engine with variable frequency, up to 2.23 GHz, so up to approximately 10.3 Teraflops of computing power
RAM: 16GB GDDR6 (448GB/s)
Storage: Custom 825GB SSD where 667.2GB of it can be used by you
HDMI: 1x HDMI 2.1 port
USB: 2x Type-A port (Super-Speed USB 10Gbps), 1x Type-A port (Hi-Speed USB) and 1x Type-C port (Super-Speed USB 10Gbps)
Wireless: 802.11ac dual band
Ethernet: 802.3 10/100/1000

Unlike Microsoft's Xbox Series family, the only difference between the two PlayStation 5s is that the most expensive version has a disc drive while the appropriately named Digital Edition doesn't. While the 10.3 Teraflops on paper makes the PS5 a bit weaker than the Xbox Series X's 12 Teraflops, these consoles are nothing to scuff at. They're approximately 2.5 times as strong as the PlayStation 4 Pro and 5.6 times as the original PS4. This makes them fully capable of running many games at 4K resolution (3840 x 2160 pixels on the screen) and 60 frames-per-second at once. By lowering the resolution, some games will even run at 120 frames-per-second on displays that support it. On top of that, quite a few games will support the very exciting ray tracing technology, giving a significant boost to lighting and reflections.

While the consoles will support these things, only time will tell how many games we'll get that reach that level. Take Spider-Man: Miles Morales as an example. The highly-anticipated launch game will give you the option to either play in 4K and 60fps without ray tracing or 4K and 30fps with ray tracing. Pixels and textures aren't everything either, however.

Mark Cerny, architect of the PlayStation 5, spent a significant amount of time talking about what he called the Tempest 3D AudioTech when the console's specifications were unveiled back in March. He claimed that 3D audio in games will reach another level thanks to this, and a few developers have said it'll make the sense of space and precision so much better. Not having your immersion broken because of loading screens and textures popping in obviously helps as well.

Storage

Going from a hard drive to a solid-state drive (SSD) makes way more of a difference than you might think. SSDs transfer data so much faster than hard drives, which means; drastically shorter, if any, load times, less pop-in of objects in games when moving at great speeds and so much more. That's without any kind of update. Just from the original game being installed on the SSD. Gotten used to checking your phone when leaving the lab or an enemy base in Spider-Man? Spider-Man: Miles Morales will let you swing straight outside to the streets of Manhattan again on PS5. Even starting or going over to another game only takes a few seconds, giving you just enough time to find the perfect gaming position in your chair, sofa or bed before being brought into the action.

External storage

The only downside is that SSDs cost more than hard drives, so Sony has decided to settle with a custom 825GB SSD built into both PlayStation 5 consoles. Anyone playing a Call of Duty or {Red Dead Redemption 2} knows that kind of storage space will be filled before you know it, especially when only 667.2GB of it can be used by you due to the operative system taking up a good portion. Sure you can store and play your PlayStation 4 games via an external hard drive, but they need to be installed on a SSD if you want to take better advantage of the hardware. Fortunately, this is one area Sony has taken a more consumer-friendly approach than Microsoft, as the PS5 will support any off-the-shelf NVMe SSDs meeting the yet to be announced requirements. Hopefully this will lead to heavier competition and faster price drops. At the time of writing, only Western Digital's SN850 NVMe SSD claims to be compatible with the PS5, and getting the 2TB version costs more than the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition. Speaking of which...

Price

Sony took many by surprise when it became known that we're not just getting the regular PlayStation 5 with a disc drive for €499.99/£449.99/$499.99 but also a PlayStation 5 Digital Edition for €399.99/£359.99/$399.99. Again: the only difference between the two is that the former can play Blu-Rays, while the latter can't. This isn't just important if you prefer watching movies in physical format, but also the backwards compatibility I'll tell you more about after detailing what kind of new games you can get on launch day.

Launch games

Who needs to play slightly improved versions of old games when several very exciting new ones launch alongside the PS5? Just look at this list:

• {Assassin's Creed Valhalla} with upscaled 4K and 60fps
• {Astro's Playroom} (pre-installed on the console)
• {Borderlands 3} with 4K and 60fps
• {Bugsnax} (free as part of PlayStation Plus until January 4)
• {Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War}
• {Dead by Daylight} with 4K and 60fps
• {Demon's Souls} with native 4K and 30fps or dynamic 4K and 60fps
• {Devil May Cry 5}: Special Edition either 4K and 120fps without ray tracing or 4K and 30fps with ray tracing
• {Dirt 5} with 4K/not locked 60fps, Dynamic 4K/60fps and not yet finalized resolution/120fps
• {Fortnite} with 4K and 60fps
• {Godfall} with 4K and 60fps
• {Maneater} with 4K and 60fps
• {Mortal Kombat 11}: Ultimate with dynamic 4K
• {NBA 2K21}
• {No Man's Sky} with 4K and 60fps
• {Observer: System Redux} with 4K, 60fps and ray tracing
• {Overcooked: All You Can Eat} with 4K and 60fps
• {Planet Coaster}
• {Sackboy: A Big Adventure}
• {Spider-Man: Miles Morales} with 4K, 30fps and ray tracing or 4K and 60fps without ray tracing
• {Spider-Man}: Remastered (only included with Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition) with 4K, 30fps and ray tracing or 4K and 60fps without ray tracing
• {The Pathless} with 4K and 30fps or lower resolution at 60fps
• {Warhammer: Chaosbane} Slayer Edition
• {Watch Dogs: Legion} (Smart Delivery) with 4K, 30fps and ray tracing
• {WRC 9} FIA World Rally Championship with dynamic 4K and 60fps

Backward compatibility

On top of that, after six months of confusion and speculation, we finally know PlayStation 5 will be able to run pretty much every PlayStation 4 game, but nothing from the generations before that. Some of them won't even just be playable. They'll also be better. An unknown selection of PS4 titles will load much faster and utilise the Game Boost technology that can improve framerate, up the fidelity, and use some of the PS5's new user experience features.

Something that makes this especially handy is a new treat for PlayStation Plus members called the PlayStation Plus Collection. This is a collection of some amazing PS4 titles PS Plus members can download and play completely free for day-one:

• {Bloodborne}
• {Days Gone}
• {Detroit: Become Human}
• {God of War}
• {Infamous} Second Son
• Ratchet and Clank
• {The Last Guardian}
• {The Last of Us} Remastered
• {Until Dawn}
• {Uncharted 4: A Thief's End}
• {Batman: Arkham Knight}
• {Battlefield 1}
• {Call of Duty: Black Ops 3} - Zombies Chronicles Edition
• {Crash Bandicoot} Nsane Trilogy
• {Fallout 4}
• {Final Fantasy XV} Royal Edition
• {Monster Hunter: World}
• {Mortal Kombat X}
• {Persona 5}
• {Resident Evil} 7 biohazard

There is still some confusion out there though, because Ubisoft decided to publish, and then delete because of "inaccuracies", its own list of game that won't be backward compatible on the PS5 after Sony posted its list. I've contacted the French company for more information about the situation and I'll update this section if the games marked with * actually work. These are the PS4 games that won't work on the PS5 at launch:

• {Assassin's Creed} Chronicles Trilogy Pack*
• {Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India}*
• {Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China}*
• {Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia}*
• {Risk}*
• {Star Trek: Bridge Crew}*
• {Werewolves Within}*
• {Space Junkies}*
• DWVR (working on a patch to fix it)
• {Afro Samurai} 2 Revenge of Kuma Volume One
• TT Isle of Man - Ride on the Edge 2 (working on a patch to fix it)
• Just Deal With It!
• {Robinson: The Journey}
• {We Sing}
• {Hitman} Go: Definitive Edition
• {Shadwen}

It's very important to note that PS4 games you own physically will only be backward compatible on the regular PS5, while digital versions will obviously work on both.

In terms of accessories, things get a bit messier. The good news is that the DualShock 4, officially licensed third-party gamepad controllers, officially licensed specialty peripherals (like racing wheels, arcade sticks etc), the Platinum and Gold Wireless headsets, third-party headsets that connect via USB port or audio jack, PlayStation VR, PS Move Motion Controllers, Aim Controller and the PS4's PlayStation Camera will work on the PS5, but there are a whole load of caveats.

The DualShock 4 will only work with PS4 games. Since the console doesn't have an optical input some headsets that require it won't work. Major brands like Astro, SteelSeries and Turtle Beach have said they're working on updates for many of these though, so don't throw them away yet. Finally, the PS4's camera won't just work straight away, you'll need to order a free adapter from Sony, something you can do here. "What if I just buy the PS5 HD Camera?" Sorry. The new camera isn't compatible with PSVR on PS5, so you'll need the adapter and the old one. Another downside to this is that the PS5 versions of games won't support PSVR, which means you'll have to buy the PS4 versions of Hitman 3 and No Man's Sky if you want to enjoy their virtual reality modes.

Those of you who don't own a PlayStation VR, but still want the adapter (if you're just using the Move controllers in Dreams for example) can contact your country's PlayStation Support, and they'll help you out.

New controller

One of the reasons why the DualShock 4 won't work with PlayStation 5 games is that the latter's new controller, the DualSense, is a significant evolution and improvement of its predecessor. I'm not just talking about it being a bit bigger with a change of colours here. Haptic feedback is simply put, a few steps up from the Nintendo Switch HD Rumble, giving you more precise, diverse and basically immersive vibrations in your hands. This can be used to indicate exactly where you're getting hit, the sense of tires being close to losing their grip and how powerful the fireballs thrown from your hands are. Having adaptive triggers working together with this system is the cherry on the cake.

Because having the triggers adapt their resistance to the situation is something that just has to be experienced. Whether it's not being able to push them in if your gun jams in Deathloop, feeling how the strings keep fighting harder as you force them together in Astro's Playroom or choosing between firing one or both barrels of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart's dual-barrelled shotgun by either stopping when you feel resistance halfway or pulling the trigger past that. Maybe I'll sound like Sony's marketing machine here, but you'll really feel like you're in the game with the thanks to the synergy between the haptic feedback and adaptive trigger. That, and I haven't even mentioned the built-in microphone, USB-C charging and some subtle design changes.

Menus and user interface

Subtle, but interesting, changes have also been made to the user interface and menus. It's easier to see it in action in the video below, but some of the highlights include generally super-quick menus, the Activities system that will let you jump straight into specific modes or levels in games, help and guide videos from the developers for the where you are at that moment (PlayStation Plus members only), progress information and rewards for specific Trophies and estimates for how long it'll take you to finish a level or objective.

Dimensions

You'd think that this kind of power and system would require a lot of space and they most certainly do. The regular PlayStation 5 is 39 cm tall, 26 cm long and 10.4 cm wide (with a bump due to the disc drive) on its bundled stand and the Digital Edition is slightly slimmer by being 39 cm tall, 26 cm long and 9.2 cm wide. Being slimmer doesn't stop it from being the biggest modern console, something our comparison video makes very clear.

Review

Now, what's the result when you sum up all of these details? You can find Ricardo's review of the PlayStation 5 here very shortly, so stay tuned for that. Don't forget to send me your questions or feedback on private message here or direct message on Twitter either, as I'll do my very best to keep this page updated with all the latest information in the weeks and months ahead.