Sony finally showed off the PlayStation 5 this summer, but now we finally have the details you’ve been waiting for. The PlayStation 5 will launch on November 12 in the United States and is priced competitively with the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. (Hint: They also drop in November.)
- PlayStation 5 ($499.99)
- PlayStation 5 All Digital Edition ($399.99)
Preorders are expected to start tomorrow, September 17, from some retailers, and we’ll dive into that a bit more below. For now, let’s talk about the PS5.
The PlayStation 5 does indeed look unlike any of the rest of the systems that PlayStation has created thus far. It will come in two different editions: one with a disc drive for physical media and one without. When the consoles launch in November, they’ll come with Sony’s new DualSense Controller. As for the PS5 itself, it will stand tall and vertical, like the Xbox Series X, but it can also be positioned horizontally.
It’s a really striking design with some curves and sleek heat vents. It’s black and white all around, as is the DualSense Controller, which is giving us some stormtrooper vibes. Both consoles will feature both a USB-A and USB-C port on the front. We imagine there will be a full array of ports on the back, including power and HDMI. The DualSense Controller will charge with USB-C as well.
So what about the hardware inside the PS5? Well, it will include a powerful GPU and an eight-core AMD chipset for processing. Sony’s Mark Cerny notes that it will feature ray tracing, an advanced lighting technique currently only seen in powerful PC gaming machines.
As expected, it will support 8K gaming and offer load times that are nearly 20 times quicker than the PlayStation 4’s. That is seriously impressive and made possible thanks to the chipset and the addition of a zippy solid-state drive. This will speed up game installs and likely help consoles to accommodate larger file sizes — so be ready for even heftier games in the future. Some of the new games designed for the PS5 were unveiled at the presentation.
That new DualSense controller aims to make gaming more immersive with haptic feedback, adaptive triggers inside the L2 and R2 buttons and sleek new design. Along with the black-and-white color scheme, it will feature a blue LED light that can change based on the game.
In addition to the standard and digital models of the PS5, Sony announced a number of new accessories. If you plan on having multiple controllers, the DualSense Charging Station will let you charge two controllers at the same time. Pulse 3D will be a wireless headset offering 3D audio support and dual microphones that will cancel out background noise. A media remote will give you better control of content playback. And an HD camera will let you stream your gameplay through dual 1080p lenses.
Some of the launch titles confirmed for the PS5’s storied debut include Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Demon’s Souls, Fortnite, Astro’s Playroom, Sackboy: A Big Adventure and Destruction AllStars. Many of the games we’re looking forward to playing the most will be console exclusives, while others will be available for cross-gen play if you pick them up on PlayStation 4 and decide to move to the PlayStation 5.
If you prefer the all-digital version that does not come with a way to play physical media, expect to pay $399. The regular version, which does include a disc drive, will run $499. The system will be available in the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea on November 12. It’s set to debut on November 19 for the rest of the world.
Of course, the system itself won’t arrive until November. In the meantime, you can still play to your heart’s content on the PlayStation 4. It’s also good to know that many PS4 titles will be supported on the PlayStation 5. The PlayStation 4 starts at $299.99 for the Slim and goes up to $399 for the Pro.
Both versions of the console are allegedly going up for preorder at select retailers on Thursday, September 17, according to Sony. Currently, there’s no specific time for when preorders may go live. This will likely include the usual suspects: Amazon, GameStop, Best Buy and additional locations that typically sell video game consoles. However, these retailers do have holding pages, so we imagine you’ll simply need to navigate there to see if you can nab one of the systems for your own.
Still, it will be prudent to keep an eye out on social media for preorder opportunities, as these consoles will likely go fast. If you don’t get one at first, be sure to keep checking back, as we don’t yet have any kind of idea for stock just yet, but we do know the PS5 will be a hot ticket item.