- Sony on Wednesday will finally unveil the PlayStation 5 during an online-only media event.
- Microsoft’s recent Xbox Series X announcements practically forced the Japanese giant to reveal everything there is to know about the PS5 when it comes to specs and design.
- Insiders expect the PS5 to be “the most exciting hardware in 20 years,” teasing the console’s CPU and SSD advancements.
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Earlier this week, Microsoft scored another point in its console marketing war with Sony. After unveiling the Xbox Series X name and design in mid-December, and announcing most of the gaming rig’s specs in mid-February, Microsoft on Monday came out swinging with a flurry of announcements. Almost everything about the Series X was revealed, including details that were kept secret a month ago. We got the entire specs sheet and new Xbox demos that highlight some of the console’s key features. We learned the console will have an excellent feature to help with storage needs beyond the built-in 1TB super-fast SSD, and Microsoft revealed the new Wireless Controller in full.
We’ve been saying for weeks that Sony has to match Microsoft’s console announcements, and Sony, on Tuesday, finally announced the date for the full PS5 event. It’s on March 18th that PS5 to lead system architect Mark Cerny “will provide a deep dive into PS5’s system architecture, and how it will shape the future of games.”
The PS5 generated plenty of excitement in previous months, thanks to Sony’s piecemeal revelations, but also thanks to the several significant leaks that explained some of the technology developed for Sony’s future of gaming. And I’m not talking about leakers who revealed the full set of specs for the PS5 or purported release date. It’s official Sony documentation that we saw in the past months. It’s patent applications that described various innovations that could be found inside the PS5, from design details to features unlike anything seen on consoles so far — here’s our roundup here.
On top of that, insiders who’ve had access to the development rig revealed some of the new features coming to games that were built specifically for the PlayStation 5, teasing that the various hardware improvements will make possible novel gaming experiences.
With all that in mind, it’s no wonder to hear that “technical-minded” folks telling Jason Schreier the PS5 will be the “most exciting hardware in 20 years.”
To elaborate a bit, that quote was referring to the whole console, but the speaker emphasized the CPU (which has long been a bottleneck for gaming consoles) and the SSD (which is said to allow for some wild possibilities vis-à-vis loading times, open worlds, etc)
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) March 17, 2020
Apparently, that quote was referring to the entire console, but the speaker highlighted the “the CPU (which has long been a bottleneck for gaming consoles) and the SSD (which is said to allow for some wild possibilities vis-à-vis loading times, open worlds, etc.).”
That falls in line with recent remarks from developers that attempted to explain what the PS5 hardware does for game development and future games.
Thanks to Microsoft’s Series X announcement from earlier this week, we know the new Xbox will be better in every way than any traditional gaming PC. The PS5 is expected to feature the same set of CPU and GPU combo, as well as a custom SSD solution of its own. If the PS5 turns out to be the “most exciting hardware in 20 years,” mostly because of its CPU and SSD, then it’ll likely share that title with the Series X.
What’s certain is that the PS5 and Xbox Series X are two of the most exciting gaming hardware innovations in seven years. We only have to wait for the official PS5 reveal for Sony to confirm all of that.
