Gaming consoles are iconic devices, at least for the most of us. Look decades into the past and every child and teenager has either grown up with one or has dreamt of it. It shapes people’s lives, adds a certain joy to them. The most prominent gaming console for the past two decades has been the PlayStation. It’s a big name, it’s an experience and a lifestyle to many. Gaming consoles aren’t relaunched every other year, so when a new one arrives, it’s a special moment. A new one mysteriously appears every seven years or so, so it’s not too often. The PlayStation 4, the last one released back in 2013, and the new one, the Sony PlayStation 5 is slated to launch this November.
The PlayStation 5 can be bought as one of two variants – the Digital Edition, the cheaper one, doesn’t include a Blu-ray drive like the standard one. The models are set to launch on the 19th of November in India and pre-orders have begun here on RelianceDigital.in.
The PlayStation has always had iconic designs They looked like they were sourced from the future. Every PlayStation, even those from three decades back, look like they have stood the test of time. The PlayStation 5 we’re happy to report, is a repetition of that. The exteriors are a modest, space-age looking cloak, meant to hide the brute performance that lies within. The white exteriors and black shell are dressed up with blue lights that run along the sides. Most PlayStations we’ve seen so far could be mounted vertically or horizontally; this is no different. There are stands that can be clipped on, allowing you to do so.
A gaming console must run games, it must run them well and it must run them that well, for a good part of a decade. The new Sony PlayStation 5 has some amazing hardware. It’s powered by a 64-bit, AMD Ryzen Zen 2 processor and a Radeon DNA-based graphic solution. Processors and graphics cards have come long a way and that’ll be useful for several things in a gaming console. Games of course, will look way better, with the added detail, dynamic lighting and effects. Games can look as realistic as the developer wishes them to be. The processor itself is a goliath, with 8 cores and 16 threads. the core speed itself goes right up to 3.5GHz, which is a lot by gaming console and gaming PC standards. Raytracing, another new technological development will be part of the gaming console that enables objects in the game to reflect light and cast shadows much like the real world. It was a feat unachievable until recently. All this 3D rendering goodness is bundled with 16GB of RAM, something one could only hope to see in high-end gaming PCs these days.
Another major trend among gaming consoles, as well as PCs and laptops is the move to SSDs (Solid-state drives). The change means many things for the gamer, biggest of which are the incredibly quick load times. SSDs are several times faster at reading and writing data, than traditional hard drives, but they’re also quiet, cool and they consume little power. There are no moving parts either, so they can be more reliable. Games unlike most desktop software are larger, much larger! The SSDs on the PlayStation will ensure you rarely have to wait for the levels and games to load. It’s got 825GB of space, so that’s enough for a lot of games. If you do choose the optical disc variant of the PS5, you could get access to 100GB game discs that can store a lot of data, without using up any of that precious internal storage.
The Sony PlayStation 5 is truly built for the future. It supports 8K monitors and TVs, but it also has support for 120Hz displays. This means games that run at 120fps or higher, will look silky-smooth unlike anything you’ve seen before. Of course, you need a display that supports 120Hz. if you don’t own one now, you are likely to, in the future as that’s quickly becoming a trend among TVs and monitors. The frame rate is how often graphics cards and gaming consoles create new frames that smoothen the experience. Older monitors and TVs use 60Hz refresh rates, so despite the improved frame rate, games don’t look a lot smoother. The higher refresh rate support ensures both, the console and the display work in tandem.
The gaming controller is how we interact with any console. Every iteration of the PlayStation controller has brought improvements and new features. It now looks different too, just like the console, dressed up in a white suit and contrasting black and blue, buttons and panels. It’s wireless and like the previous generation controllers, it has haptic feedback. It has a built-in microphone, a mono speaker, and an audio jack which you can use to connect your own pair of earphones or headphones. The PlayStation 5 is a video creator’s dream come true too. Not only can you play games on it, you can also stream it to audiences on the web in real time. There is a Create button on the controller to do this. The battery onboard the unit is 1,560mAh which is quite a lot and you won’t have to worry about charging it too often, but when you do, there’s a USB Type-C port for that purpose. There is even an optional DualSense controller charging station accessory you can buy if you’d like. It can be used to charge two controllers together.
Other add-on accessories include the Pulse 3D wireless headset, specifically designed for the PlayStation 5 and the kicker is that it supports noise cancellation. Remember, Sony is the one that created the all too popular WH-1000XM3 and WH-1000XM4 noise-cancellation headphones. They’re among the best in the world, so they have a sound idea of what they’re doing. What’s more, it even looks as futuristic as the other PlayStation 5 hardware.
The PlayStation 5 is not just a gaming console, it’s an entertainment center. There is an optional Media remote accessory which is something the non-gamers at home will surely appreciate. They won’t have to bother learning all the buttons and triggers on the DualSense just to play some music. The Media remote has dedicated buttons to launch your favorite media streaming services all from one place. It has support for Netflix, YouTube, Spotify and more.
The HD camera optional accessory is particularly useful for online game streamers. The camera streams wide-angle, full HD footage, and it even has the tools needed to clear out the background from the scene, like the professional setups at your local TV stations. It’s easy to setup and it can be attached to the top of your television in no time.
We have covered everything needed to know about the Sony PlayStation 5, but gaming consoles aren’t made around the hardware, they are made around the games. Exclusive titles that you won’t find anywhere can be expected alongside the PlayStation 5 launch. There are the absolute blockbuster titles like Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Final Fantasy XVI, Five Nights Breach and Hogwarts Legacy. Games like the New God of War, and Demon’s Souls will be there too. Some of the games can be pre-ordered even before the console is launched. Some of the footage of these games were shown during the launch even and they were stunning. You can find the entire list of titles here.
Sony hasn’t forgotten about backward compatibility either. Exclusive PS4 titles such as Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, and Horizon Forbidden West will also be available on the PlayStation 5. They have been re-engineered and tweaked to take advantage of the new hardware. The latest generation PlayStation 5 also supports VR games just like the PlayStation 4.
Gaming consoles only show up once every 7 years or so and the gaming console that is likely to keep you company for the next many years, might be the Sony PlayStation 5. The launch date is so close that you can start deciding whether you’d like the Digital Edition or the optical drive version. Indian pricings aren’t out just yet, but the US market prices have been set as $499.99 USD for the optical disc version and $399.99 for the Digital Edition. Reliance Digital will bring you the PlayStation 5 when it launches in India and you can pre-order and show your interest today. You can also inquire at your nearest Reliance Digital store.
