Sony announced yesterday that their long-awaited next-gen console will be released on the 12th of November. The US, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand will get their hands on the new lineup first, with the rest of the world set to follow a week later on 19th November. Interestingly, Sony hasn’t finalised a release date for China yet. But given the market size there, it’s unlikely that they would delay it much.
We’ve known for a while now that Sony is launching two devices in the PS5 line-up: The regular PS5 with next-gen specs and a BluRay disk drive, and the PS5 Digital Edition which doesn’t include a disk drive. Prices are set at US $499.99 for the PS5, and $399.99 for the Digital Edition. As expected, these prices pitch them directly against the new Microsoft Xbox consoles slated to be released just a couple of days before the PS5, on 10th November. The top-of-the-line Xbox Series X will cost $499, while its smaller sibling Xbox Series S will run you $299.
(Images courtesy of LetsGoDigital)
Preorders for the PS5 consoles were supposed to start today (17th September), but many retailers jumped the gun and have already run out of planned initial stocks. Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and GameStop all put the new consoles up for pre-orders ahead of schedule, and the sites were bombarded with eager customers. Funnily enough, this has caused DDoS protection mechanisms to kick into gear at the GameStop product page, which is not accessible even at the time of writing this article. This comes hot on the heels of Bloomberg’s report that Sony is cutting back PS5 production by 4 million units than initially planned. Sony CEO Jim Ryan denied Bloomberg’s report, but there’s no official word on exactly how many units will be available at launch.
Games, Old and New
Sony demoed new gameplay footage of previously announced games such as Spider-Man Miles Morales, Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War, Deathloop, and Demon’s Souls. They also brought new games to the show, including Final Fantasy XVI, Hogwarts Legacy, Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition, and Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach.
Sony’s PlayStation Plus members are getting more gifts – a selection of popular PS4 titles called the PlayStation Plus Collection will be available for them at the launch of PS5, added to their game library as part of the subscription at no extra cost. The list includes gems like Mortal Kombat X, God of War, Days Gone, The Last of Us Remastered, Monster Hunter World, Uncharted 4, Battlefield 1, Fallout 4, Final Fantasy XV, The Last Guardian, Infamous Second Son, Ratchet & Clank, Bloodborne, Batman Arkham Knight, Persona 5, Until Dawn, Resident Evil Biohazard, and Detroit Become Human.
Sony also notes that the PS5 will be compatible with a majority of PS4 games. It remains to be seen how Sony’s offerings will compare with the XBox Game Pass Ultimate. The latter promises 100s of XBox games, and bundles the EA Play membership for over 60 more games including “FIFA 20, Titanfall 2 and Need for Speed Heat, as well as titles from some of EA’s most popular franchises like Battlefield, Mass Effect, Skate, and The Sims“. The Game Pass Ultimate is certainly alluring, given how it lets players own games across consoles and PCs. This becomes even more important with Nvidia’s RTX 3000 series cards, for those looking to get the best gaming experience. #PCMR.