We are just one month away from E3 2018, and gamers (myself included) are hungry for new announcements and developments. After the huge success that God of War gave Sony, it will be interesting to see how other exclusives stack up. One thing we’re all wondering is whether Sony will tease the PS5 at this year’s Electronics Entertainment Expo. Thanks to the PlayStation Blogcast, we have an answer from the Chairman of Worldwide Studios, Shawn Layden: Sony does not plan to announce any hardware this year. Despite this, there’s still plenty to talk about. Sony Has No Hardware Announcements Planned There was certainly some speculation about a potential PS5 announcement at E3 2018, especially when news broke earlier this year about third-party companies receiving dev kits for the PlayStation 5. On the PlayStation Blogcast, Sony’s chairman of worldwide studios, Shawn Layden, was asked about potential hardware announcements during Sony’s showcase. His response was the following: ”We’re going to be focusing on all the new content that are coming out…There will be no new hardware announcements at E3 this year.” For some people, this may come as a disappointment, but there’s a silver lining here. Let’s all remember how Sony officially unveiled the PS4. It wasn’t during an E3 event, it was actually showcased for the first time at a completely separate event dedicated wholly to the announcement. In February of 2013, Sony held the “See the Future” event in New York, where they invited members of the press to see the future of PlayStation. It was a big event with a lot of hype and speculation behind it. At the event, they announced the PS4, talked about its specs, and set a release date for holiday 2013. With the success of this event and the PS4 as a whole, it’s not outside the realm of possibility to expect them to do something similar, possibly in early 2019 or 2020. You could speculate that Sony is doing this as a red herring, but they’ve done this in the past, specifically with PS4 Pro. They tempered expectations around that before it was released, so people wouldn’t expect a hardware announcement at a major event. While it would be shocking them to say this, and then announce the PS5, it doesn’t seem very likely. We’re still confident that the PS5 won’t be released until 2020. What Will Sony Show at E3 2018? During the same podcast, Shawn Layden outlined Sony’s plans for their showcase this year. This was met with some surprise, as Sony typically keeps everything a secret. In an effort to try something new and set expectations, he outlined the four titles that will be focusing on in this year’s conference: The Last of Us: Part II Death Stranding Marvel’s Spider-Man Ghosts of Tsushima He did say they will have some surprises from third-party publishers and indie developers, so everything isn’t spoiled just yet. Along with Days Gone, I believe these titles will be the swan song for the PS4, so … Read More
The DualShock 5 Wishlist: Features and Changes Gamers Want
Controllers are the tools by which we interact with our games. Their design and function is just as important as the console itself. A great console with a bad controller will always be remembered as a bad console. Thankfully, Sony has never had too much trouble with their controller design. The original DualShock began life as a secondary controller for the PS1, and until the PS4, it remained largely the same. The DualShock 4 mixed things up, so will the PS5’s controller continue this trend? Let’s talk about what we, as gamers, want from the next PlayStation controller. The PS4 has been absolutely killing it this generation. It came out of the gate with plenty of features Sony knew gamers and developers wanted. Was it perfect? No, but it certainly started on a better foot than the Xbox One did. Sony has always had their finger on the pulse of the gaming industry. It was a bold move to change the controller design for the DualShock 4, and it mostly paid off. I personally like the PS4 controller better than past iterations, but it’s not perfect. So, how can Sony improve with the Dualshock 5? Here are 7 things gamers will be happy to see as part of the PS5’s controller setup: 7 Things Gamers Want to See From The DualShock 5 1. Touchscreen Instead of a Touchpad The addition of a touchpad on the DualShock 4 was an interesting change that makes it stand out from the DualShock 3 in a big way. While this touchpad works well, it hasn’t received a lot of use on the console since launch. Underutilized space? It acts as a separate button you can press (often to open maps in games), but the actual touch tracking has only been used sparingly. It feels like it should have been something more useful, like a touchscreen. The Wii U had a touchscreen on its controller, and so did the Sega Dreamcast. Both of these consoles didn’t realize their full potential, but they did have interesting mechanics with the touchscreen. Information like health, inventory, and even maps could be displayed here and prove far more useful than a touchpad that rarely sees any use. 2. A Design Lab Option For Custom Controllers One thing that Microsoft has done very well this generation, is offer a custom design option for people who want a unique controller. Microsoft’s Xbox Design Lab is an intuitive online platform that lets you create a custom controller with a huge variety of options. You can change the color of the front and back faceplates, along with the color of the buttons, the triggers, the bumpers, and even the analog sticks. If you want an engraving, you can have that too. Sony has released a good amount of color options for the DualShock 4, but I would love to see a platform like Design Lab for the DualShock 5. Sony could even take it one step further and allow gamers to place emblems … Read More
Despite Rumors, The PS5 Won’t Be Here Until 2020
How much would you pay for an exclusive look at the actual specs of the PS5? Would you pay $1000? That’s exactly what news outlet, Semiaccurate is asking for a look at their exclusive post. If you’re not a subscriber, you’re left wondering what’s hidden behind that paywall. A few details have slipped through the cracks, but this once again begs the question of when we’ll see the PS5. Some rumors have said we could see it as early as 2018. We here at PS5 Gamers have always leaned towards a 2020 release date, and new evidence seems to solidify our claims. Join us as we break everything down. Semiaccurate Claims Exclusive PS5 Details While we have multiple rumors to discuss, the latest development is the claim that semiaccurate has obtained PS5 specs information. In the past, this outlet has been right about a few details regarding console specs for the Switch before it was released. The actual article is hidden behind a $1,000 paywall, but thankfully the folks over at resetera have compiled some information from the post. Here is a breakdown of the information contained within: The PS5 may use AMD’s Navi as its base architecture, but it won’t be using it specifically The CPU is a custom Zen A large amount of dev kits have been sent out The author suggests a 2018 release based on the number of dev kits VR support is a priority at the foundation level of the system These claims should be taken with a grain of salt as both rumor and a summary of a post that most people will not be able to read (myself included). Even so, many of these things are in line with some of our predictions regarding the PS5’s potential CPU structure. Taking all of this into account, would it be wise to release the PS5 as soon as 2018, or is it more likely that Sony will wait. You already know our opinion on the matter, but let’s look at the facts. The PS5 Release Date: 2018, 2019, or 2020? The rumor mill has been working overtime lately. Just a few weeks ago, we heard that PS5 dev kits were already in the hands of developers. This pointed to a possible release date that was sooner than we originally thought. Now, with another 2018 prediction courtesy of the Semiaccurate article’s author, we have to address this possibility. We outlined our major arguments against this release date in our development kit post (linked above), but the most compelling piece of evidence is the current lineup of titles still to release for PS4. Why would Sony release a new console when they still have several major first-party titles yet to release? It doesn’t make sense. This point and several others are mirrored in Kotaku’s latest PS5 article, which claims that the PS5 is still a ways off, according to reputable sources. In this piece, Jason Schreier mirrors my opinion that the PS5 isn’t coming until 2020. While … Read More
PS5 in 2019? Rumor Claims Dev Kits are Already Being Distributed
The PS4 released on November 15, 2013. The PS4 Pro released November 10, 2016. If a new rumor is to be believed, the PS5 could release in November of 2019. This rumor comes from a gaming journalist named Marcus Sellars, who has a long and successful track record of accurately predicting major gaming news. According to him, PS5 development kits were sent out earlier this year to third party developers. If this is true, the console announcement is sure to follow. Join us as we dive into the source of this rumor, and look at how dev kits have informed the release of new consoles in the past. A New Rumor Suggests Developers Already Have PS5 Dev Kits Marcus Sellars is a game journalist who has accurately predicted a number of major game announcements in the past on his Twitter account. He leaked Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 before it was announced and even outed several details about the latest Nintendo Direct and the announcement of a Diablo III Switch port. Needless to say, his predictions are often founded in reliable sources. That’s why a lot of heads turned when Marcus Tweeted the following: PS5 dev kits went out early this year to third party developers. — Marcus Sellars (@Marcus_Sellars) March 6, 2018 If this is true, then the PS5 could be coming within the next year. Dev kits, also known as development kits, are prototypes of new consoles that are sent to developers so they can begin creating titles for the new hardware. These are usually sent in several versions as the hardware is finalized, but they signify the coming of a new console. We should also take note that Marcus specified “third-party developers” in his tweet. Studios that are owned by Sony would have first access to any new dev kits, but if Sony is now sending the prototypes to third-party developers, it could mean that they are finalizing the specs of the PS5. All of this begs the question: why 2019? Isn’t that a little early for a new console? Well, let’s take a look at how Dev kits were distributed in the past. History Repeating: The Timeline Between PS4 Dev Kits and The Console’s Release Let’s go back in time to 2012. During this time, the PS3 and the Xbox 360 were in households everywhere. It was a great generation, but it was coming to a close. The PS4 and Xbox One announcements were coming very soon. In November of this year, VG247 posted an article about the PlayStation 4’s dev kits. This article confirmed information from multiple sources that Sony was sending out the final versions of a PS4 development kit by summer of 2013. Back then, the console was code-named Orbis and it was sent to developers in the housing of a standard PC, so it didn’t even look like a game console. Developers were invited to a “disclosure meeting” during this time, at which point they were shown the final hardware and … Read More
Google’s Game Console: Could it Compete With PS5?
While many companies have created game consoles, only Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony have truly stood the test of time. Other contenders have come and gone, some with great ideas, and others with knock-off consoles you see for sale at Walgreens or CVS. Now it seems we may have a new player. The massive technology giant, Google, is rumored to be working on a game console of their own, codenamed “Yeti.” Should Sony be worried about this potential competition? Let’s find out! Google is Making a Game Console? While Google hasn’t announced anything, rumors point to a potential game console from the company that brought us one of the world’s largest search engines. They already manufacture phones, they have an entire operating system, are developing quantum computing, they have the highest educated employees of any tech company and they even released a VR headset. A game console doesn’t seem like much of a leap. The project, codenamed “Yeti” is rumored to be a cloud-based console that streams games over an internet connection instead of playing them on a console, according to a report by The Information published earlier in 2018. The rumor has surfaced once again, as massive gaming news outlet Kotaku, has reported on the console with new information. New sources seem to indicate that Google is taking a three-stage approach to their gaming plans: A streaming platform Hardware of some sort An initiative to bring more developers under Google’s name It’s no secret that Google has been trying to make some sort of splash in the gaming industry for some time now. It’s public knowledge that they were planning on purchasing Twitch before Amazon closed the deal, and rumors about an android-based console surfaced in recent years, but this didn’t go anywhere. Talk of the console, still codenamed “Yeti,” came back into the limelight when Google representatives met with several companies at the Game Developers Conference in March of 2018. Several meetings were also scheduled during E3 2018, with reports that Google is looking to outright purchase developers, as opposed to convincing them to make their games for the platform. While other companies like Nvidia and even Sony offer game streaming, common issues arise from modern internet connections. Pictured: The Yeti we hope inspired the codename To provide the same experience players have at home, internet connections would have to be very strong and highly reliable. Any dip in performance can hurt the game experience. Solving this problem would not be an easy feat. If Google could somehow circumvent these issues, though, they would be able to provide modern game experiences without the need to buy and upgrade hardware. The cloud servers would handle all of the heavy lifting. There’s also the potential scenario where the console hardware itself competes with Sony and Microsoft, but details on this aspect of Google’s plan are still sparse at best. Google customers are already using Chromecast and Google Home technology, so people are already used to having Google hardware in their homes. … Read More
What to Expect From The PS5: 5 Cutting-Edge Features
With the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X out in the wild, we’re back to the waiting game. When will Sony discuss the PS5 in detail? When will it release? These questions remain in the back of our minds as we move into the future of gaming. While we wait, it’s time to level our expectations. What can we realistically expect from the PS5? Join us as we separate reality from fantasy. 5 Things You Can Expect From The PlayStation 5 When we dream about the PS5, it’s easy to let our imaginations get away from us. It’s always fun to dream big, but what should we expect from the next PlayStation? Where do we draw the line between what is realistic and what is not? Below are five things we believe you can expect from the PS5 1. Native 4K Resolution (And Higher) The battle for 4K is a hot topic right now in gaming. Both the Xbox One X and the PS4 Pro have a strong focus on 4K resolution. The Xbox promises true 4K, but it doesn’t always hit that mark. While Microsoft will make it a focus on their games, other titles may not opt for a 4K enhancement. Other games like Overwatch use a dynamic scaler to change the resolution based on the situation. In action-heavy sequences, the resolution drops below 4K and then rises back to that threshold when the action dies down. Meanwhile, PS4 Pro is using a technique called Checkerboard Rendering that can push resolutions much higher than 1080p, but it still doesn’t hit 4K all the time. Here’s the takeaway: 4K gaming is an illusion right now unless you’re a PC gamer with a powerful rig. No one is getting all 4K all the time, regardless of the console. You can expect this to change on the PS5. Sony and Microsoft are talking about teraflops more than ever. The higher the number, the more likely that the console can support 4K gaming. Microsoft is in the lead with Xbox One X, which boasts 6 teraflops. Many analysts, including Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities, believe that Sony will push as many teraflops as possible to beat Microsoft’s console. A reasonable range would be 8-10 teraflops for the PS5. This would be sufficient to facilitate 4K gaming far more often than current consoles. With the entire industry obsessed with 4K, you can bet this will be a major feature on the new system. 2. Next Generation Virtual Reality (PSVR 2) Virtual reality was nothing more than a pipe dream for the longest time, but in 2017 it finally hit the mainstream in a big way. Oculus Rift and HTC Vive were slowly picking up steam, but it wasn’t until PlayStation VR launched that we really saw a lot of discussion surrounding the technology. In the first year, Sony moved over 2 million VR headsets and sold 10 million VR games. Those are some seriously impressive numbers for a new peripheral that costs … Read More
Why Sony Should Delay The PS5 Release
While many gamers want the next big thing as soon as possible, this is not always the case with consoles. New owners of the PS4 or Pro probably don’t want the PS5 to come out right away. While Microsoft may be ahead with the Xbox One X, the PS4 doesn’t need its successor just yet. The PS5 is the console we want, but it’s not the console we need right now. Join us as we look at five reasons why Sony should delay the release of the PS5! 5 Compelling Reasons to Delay The PS5’s Release If Sony offered you the PS5 tomorrow, would you buy it? What if you had to give up all of your PS4 games, or your PlayStation VR? Many of us wouldn’t be willing to make that trade. The PS4 is alive and well, and PlayStation VR is settling into a nice stride. Here are our top 5 reasons for Sony to hold off on the PS5: 1. Don’t Rush the PS5 to Market First and foremost, Sony should not try and rush the PS5 to market. The PS4 has been out for several years, but the Pro and PSVR are just now finding their place in the gaming world. Putting out something new at this point would just rob this generation of its remaining potential. New consoles usually come out when the flood of titles has slowed to a trickle, and sales of the system start to slow down. This is when the market starts to stagnate, and the time comes for a new jolt of innovation. The PS4 is not here yet. Major releases like God of War, Last of Us Part II, Days Gone, and Death Stranding are still a ways out. These represent the next wave of epic titles for PS4, and with even newer titles announced in 2017, the PS4 has no shortage of power and innovation left in it. The most important takeaway here, is that the PS4 is not on its way out. If anything, it’s still growing at an incredible speed. Sony is a business above all else, so they will make the right call here and wait until the market is ready for a new system. 2. Break Sales Records As of December 2017, Sony has sold 70.6 million PS4 systems and 2 million PlayStation VR headsets. Last generation, Sony and Microsoft finished neck-and-neck, but this time around the PS4 is well ahead of Xbox One in sales. The Xbox One X could potentially close the gap, but early reports don’t make it seem like Microsoft’s new console is all the rage. If anything, Nintendo may win the war for sales this generation. The Nintendo Switch has already outsold the Wii U’s lifetime sales in Japan and continues to sell like hotcakes. The PS4 still has a ways to go before it conquers the PS2. As the greatest selling console of all time, the PlayStation 2 sold a whopping 155 million units. The PS4 is almost … Read More
PS5 is Coming in 2021, PS4 to Sell 100 Million by 2019 According to IDC Analyst
While the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X are pretty young in the grand scheme of consoles, they are not next generation machines. We are still waiting on the PS5 to usher in the next generation of gaming, it’s only a matter of time. While some predictions have said this would be as soon as 2019 or 2020, a new prediction from IDC analyst Lewis Ward claims the PS5 could release as late as 2021! Would it be best for Sony to wait that long, or should the PS5 release sooner? Let’s discuss! PS5 in 2021 and 100 million PS4 Consoles Sold by 2019 GamingBolt spoke to Lewis Ward, IDC research director for gaming and VR/AR. During this interview, they asked him when he thinks Sony would launch the PS5. His response was this: “Right now I think PS5 and the next-gen Xbox will arrive in 2021, but that’s really just a tentative placeholder in my forecast.” On top of this prediction, Ward also said that he believes the PS4 will reach the 100 million units sold milestone by 2019. The PS4 has already sold 70 million units as of December 2017, so it’s certainly possible that they could reach this lofty goal, given the current lineup of first-party titles. PlayStation VR is no slouch either. As of this same time frame, the little VR headset that could has sold over 2 million units. Since you need a PS4 console to use virtual reality, the sales of this headset could also boost system sales. Of course, if Sony wants to break the PS2’s record, they’ll need to shoot even higher. That system sold 155 million units during its lifespan, making it the best-selling console of all time. With this new prediction in place, let’s see how it stacks up against other predictions we’ve seen. Comparing PS5 Release Date Predictions Over at our Release Date Page, we keep an eye on all the predictions coming in from analysts and industry titans. Lewis Ward says 2021, but what does everyone else think? Here’s the breakdown: Our prediction: November 15th, 2020 Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot: 2019-2020 Wedbush Securities Research Analyst Michael Pachter: 2019/2020 IDC Analyst Lewis Ward: 2021 Wall Street Journal’s Takashi Mochizuki: 2018 Analyst Damian Thong: 2018 Right now, Lewis Ward is the latest with his prediction one year ahead of everyone else’s. Some analysts even seem to think that the PS5 is coming as soon as 2018. What do you think? When should Sony release the PS5? Let us know in the comments! Sources: Gaming Bolt Article on Lewis Ward Prediction PS4 and PSVR Sales as of December 2017 Related Articles: PS5 is Waiting on Xbox One X Ubisoft CEO: PS5 is a Minimum of Two Years Away Could the PS4 be a Console/Portable Hybrid?
Ubisoft CEO: PS5 is a “Minimum Of Two Years” Away
Ubisoft is a massive publisher best known for titles like Rainbow Six Siege and Assassin’s Creed. Their CEO, Yves Guillemot, is easily one of the biggest players in the game industry. Given this standing, it’s safe to assume he would have the best knowledge of when to expect the next generation of consoles. Speaking on an investor call, he revealed Ubisoft’s predictions for when we’ll potentially see the PS5 and Xbox 2. They believe that it’s still at least 2 years before we’ll see the new system. Let’s discuss! How Sure is Ubisoft About This Prediction? During an investor call, Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot said that the company’s belief is that the next major consoles are a “minimum of two years away.” Guillemot went to explain: As Sony launched PlayStation 4 Pro last year and Microsoft Xbox One X this year, we think we still have a minimum of two years in front of us before something new is coming. But that’s our perception, we don’t have any confidential information on that front.” So, according to Guillemot, there’s no evidence to support their claim that the PS5 is two years away, but it does make sense. After all, the PS4 Pro has only been out for about a year, and the Xbox One X just released. Customers won’t be happy if their new system is obsolete in a year. In the eyes of Ubisoft, the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X aren’t a bad thing, either. Guillemot believes they will be beneficial to the industry in the long run: We really like the fact that Sony and Microsoft are really putting more power in their machines, using the evolution of technology to give power to our developers to create better games for our players. That is going in the right direction, rather than trying to do accessories or other things. That is going to help the industry a lot because the games will be really beautiful on those machines. While Guillemot’s comment about accessories could be seen as a knock to PlayStation VR, it’s true that the new systems do offer more horsepower for developers to expand on. Even so, they aren’t able to complete run with the new systems, instead being forced to ensure all new games run on both the original hardware and the new ones. With 4K being the main focus, is it really realistic to think that these new mid-generation systems can carry the industry forward for 2 years or longer? This is where our speculation comes into play. Finding the Balance Between New Hardware and Loyalty Ubisoft immediately assumes that the PS5 is at least two years away, based mostly on the fact that the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X just released. While these new systems are nice, they don’t really empower developers as much as a new generation would. Since games are required to work on all hardware, the new systems can only go so far before they are leaving the old … Read More
Could The PS5 Be a Portable/Console Hybrid?
There are those out there who still champion the PlayStation Vita and wish it hadn’t met an early demise. It’s true that Sony’s portable systems, while well made, have never been able to compete with Nintendo’s offerings. Now that Nintendo has released the Switch, they’ve managed to merge the concept of a console with a portable. Is it possible that Sony could do the same thing? After all, portable experiences are big for many people who often commute to work, or rarely have time to camp out in front of the TV. It’s no secret that the Switch is going well for itself, so that begs the question, could the PS5 be a portable/console hybrid as well? It may be more of a possibility than you think. Sony Files Patent For a Handheld System Before you shoot down the concept, let’s look at the facts. In early 2017, NeoGAF user ponpo spotted a patent that was filed by Sony back in 2015. It wasn’t published until 2017, but the images associated with it look suspiciously like the setup Nintendo has with the Switch. While it’s true that patents don’t always become products, it does show that Sony is entertaining the idea. While the images don’t immediately show the ability to detach the controllers on either side, it’s reasonable to assume that this function is possible, just like the Switch’s Joycon controllers. Much like the Switch, this patent could be for a system that allows you to place the tablet into a dock and play games on the TV, or take them on the go. I don’t think, after the lack of support for the PSP and Vita, that Sony will go into the handheld field a third time, so that makes me think that they’re going to use this in conjunction with the PS5 somehow. It’s clearly an idea that works. Nintendo has enjoyed sales in excess of 7.63 million units worldwide through September 2017. Keep in mind, that the console was released in March of 2017, so those numbers are pretty impressive. Even more interesting, is that the Switch has managed to outpace the sales of the PS4 in Japan! These kinds of statistics show a shift in gaming where graphics aren’t necessarily everything. If you can change the way games play, then you can easily take on the giants of the industry. So, let’s entertain this idea for a while. What would the PS5 look like if it was a portable/console hybrid? The PS5 as a Hybrid Console Let’s fast forward to a hypothetical E3 2018 where Sony announces the PS5. It will still be the PlayStation console you know and love, but with some added twists. While the Nintendo Switch doesn’t have the same hardware power as its contemporaries, Sony is not one to be beaten by Microsoft’s hardware. The novelty of portability won’t be enough to make them sacrifice graphical power, so they’ll find a way to compromise. The PS5 will still be the most powerful … Read More