People have long speculated about the PlayStation 5, but today’s PS5 news revealed a ton of information. From the future of virtual reality to who the talented man that is in charge of development, it offered up plenty of reasons to be thrilled about the future of PlayStation and gaming as a whole. We’re going to see a big leap and it’s not just all graphical in nature. With all that in mind, here are 10 reasons why the new PlayStation 5 news is so exciting for PlayStation fans.
Mark Cerny is once again leading development
If you’re not familiar with Mark Cerny then you should be. Not only is he the lead system architect behind both the PlayStation 4 and the PS4 Pro, but he’s also worked on an array of amazing games over his decades within the industry. Beloved classics like Crash Bandicoot, Marble Madness, Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet and Clank, and Jak and Daxter would have never been the same without his input. Most recently, he was the director for both Knack games, executively produced Marvel’s Spider-Man, and is the technical producer on Death Stranding.
And while his talent for making software is remarkable, his skills for making hardware are also impressive. His decisions shaped the PS4 into the success it is today and it is quite likely he will create the PS5 with the same amount of care and thought.
The PS5 will be backwards compatible
Thanks to Cerny returning, the PlayStation 5 will build upon the PS4’s existing infrastructure. By not completely abandoning the technology, this will allow for PlayStation 4 titles to be played on the new system. This is a great perk as players will get to keep their existing library of games and it will make for an easy generational transition. Expect to see a lot of cross-generation titles early on as PS5 gains new adopters and catches up to the install base of its successful predecessor.
PSVR isn’t going anywhere
While it won’t be surprising if Sony releases a revised version of the PlayStation VR headset for the new system (which Cerny hinted at), those with an existing one won’t be left out in the dark. Cerny confirmed that the current headset will work with the new console. Thanks to it being even more powerful than the current system, players can expect better and more immersive virtual reality experiences going forward. This is also a smart call as those that already purchased a headset won’t feel burned by the new system. After all, getting into virtual reality gaming can be a costly endeavor that requires PlayStation Move controllers and the PlayStation Camera on top of the headset itself.
It’ll be much more powerful than the PS4
This kind of winds up in obvious territory, but the PlayStation 5 will feature some huge technical leaps compared to what we currently have in our homes. Cerny revealed that the console will feature an AMD computer chip that is based upon the popular Ryzen line. As such, it will offer up eight cores of the 7nm Zen 2 central processing unit. It may be a bit convoluted for those who don’t speak computer but rest assured that it will be more powerful.
The GPU will support ray tracing
Beyond computing strength, the PlayStation 5’s graphical capabilities will also be significantly enhanced. It will feature a custom Radeon graphics processing unit that is based upon the Navi line of products. This will allow it to support ray tracing, a popular technique that is often used for special effects in movies. It allows reflective surfaces and liquid to be rendered much more realistically in real-time. Expect to see a significant graphical leap in AAA gaming as developers start implementing this technology into their titles.
Hello SSD, goodbye long load times
One of the coolest upgrades that the PlayStation 5 will feature is a solid-state drive rather than a regular hard drive. This is specifically due to developers asking for the quicker drive type as games continue to get larger and more complex in nature. Not only will this help load times significantly decrease, but will make games even more responsive. This is due to the speed at which the game can access data. Characters and worlds can be rendered much quicker and that means we’ll be able to use quicker cameras in-game. That’s just one of the many benefits of having an SSD.
For example, Cerny showed fast travel in Spider-Man on a regular hard drive and it took 15 seconds to load. It only took 0.8 seconds on the solid-state drive.
Sound will be better than ever too
All of this powerful tech will also be used to enhance the audio experience for players as well. Cerny says that audio hasn’t changed much between PS3 and PS4, but this generation will be different. This is due to the AMD chip featuring 3D audio support that can deliver surround sound without external hardware (although it will support it as well). It’s easy to forget how important sound is and hopefully the PS5 will help turn more people into audiophiles.
It will support 8K televisions
While 4K television and gaming is quickly becoming the norm, there’s a step beyond that in resolution. This is 8K graphics, which is an ultra high-def resolution of 7680 by 4320 pixels. These type of displays aren’t expected to become widespread any time soon, but the PlayStation 4 is being future-proofed and will support these devices. If you’re willing to splurge on an expensive monitor or televisions then you can enjoy 8K whenever it finally releases.
We’ve still got at least a year of the PS4 left
One of the best things that Cerny revealed was that we’ll have time to save up money for what is sure to be a costly device full of innovation. The PlayStation 4 isn’t going anywhere soon, which is one of the reasons why the PS5 will be backwards compatible, and Cerny guaranteed that the new system won’t be out this year. That means we still get plenty of time and value out of our existing PS4s for now. Nobody likes buying a new console only for it to quickly become obsolete and Sony is clearly aware of that.
This is only the hardware
We’ve only gotten a glimpse at the hardware powering the PlayStation 5 so far. Most of the exciting features that the system will support aren’t even known yet. So, if there’s already this much to be excited about, imagine what innovations that we’ll see next generation. More features in the vein of Share Play could be revealed as gaming continues to get more social. This is all great news and it will be interesting to see what the minds at Sony can come up with. He even hinted that Death Stranding was coming to the system.
Featured Image Credit: Kevork Djansezian / Stringer / Getty Images
