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?
PS5 Release Date, Pre-Order, Specs, Price
PS5 Release Date – Yessssss! It is finally here! The PS5 Release Date was November 12, 2020, for all major regions, followed by November 19th for other parts of the world. We first accurately predicted this exact date back in 2014! We are the only website in the world to do this. PS5 Order info here. Playstation Release Date History PS1 Release Date Saturday – December 3, 1994 Time Between 5 Years 3 months – 1918 days PS2 Release Date Saturday – March 4, 2000 Time Between 6 years and 8 months – 2444 days PS3 Release Date Saturday – November 11, 2006 Time Between 7 Years, 5 days – 2562 days PS4 Release Date Friday – Nov 15, 2013 (XBox beat – 7 days) PS4 Pro Release Thursday, Nov 10, 2016 (XBox 1X beat – 362 days) Time Between Since PS4 – 7 years & 1 day – 2558 days total Time Between Since PS4 Pro – 2 years, 11 months, 28 days – 1093 days total PS5 Release Date Thursday, November 12, 2020 When did the PS5 Come Out? The Playstation 5 was officially released on November 12, 2020. Sony officially confirmed a prediction we made back in 2014! That’s right we knew before Sony even made the final decision! On September 16th, 2020, Sony confirmed the PS5’s release date as November 12th, 2020!. Just like with the pre-order the PS5 sold out immediately, leaving fans across the world totally devastated. We also accurately predicted the official PS5 announcement would be in 2019. We also accurately predicted the PS4 release date on our other site but that is another story. Now let’s look at the history shall we. The PS2 came 5 years 3 months after the PS1, the PS3 came 6 years 8 months after the PS2 and the PS4 came 7 years and 5 days after the PS3. Following this trend 2020 should have been no surprise to gamers world wide and yet many people argued 2018, 2019 and even still 2021. We were not the only ones who thought so either. According to WinFuture, a report from Ace Research Institute’s analyst Hideki Yasuda predicted that the PS5 release in November of 2020 as well for a price of $499. The analyst also went on to predict that Sony would sell six million consoles before the end of the fiscal year, which would be March 2021, along with another 15 million sold in the following year. The analyst said that Microsoft’s next-gen console would be the main competitor, but went so far as to say that Google Stadia wouldn’t be a serious competitor. Ouch! The Latest PS5 Release Date News Flights for PS5 Secured! – According to Chinese tech outlet Caixin, Sony has made a deal with Delta Air Cargo allowing it to ship PlayStation 5 consoles to the US by air until the end of the year. It is either 60 flights or 60 aircraft. That is a lot of PS5s! Source (Date – 9/15/20) … Read More
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
Has The Modern PC Already Beaten The PS5?
There’s always been this kind of ongoing conflict between PC and consoles. With the right time, budget, and skillset, a PC will always be more powerful than the latest and greatest console. There’s no getting around that, but power isn’t everything. Consoles have a lot going for them, otherwise they would have died out a long time ago. We like to talk a lot here about how powerful the PS5 will be, but when you look at the current PC builds out there, it’s easy to think that the PS5 will be yet another console that pales in comparison to its PC brethren. While it’s highly likely a high-end PC will best the PS5 in terms of raw power, I wouldn’t say that the PS5 has necessarily been surpassed. Let’s find out how Sony plans to woo the PC crowd! The Five Factors We Must Consider The first thing we have to remember is that power isn’t everything. PC has the consoles beat in terms of raw power, but there’s a lot more that goes into a quality PC experience versus a console one. Let’s not forget that Sony also created the PS4 Pro with to woo the PC gamers. It promised 4K for a fraction of the cost and with a much lower barrier of entry. To run 4K on PC, you would need a ton of power and a strong understanding of how to optimize such experiences with proper adjustments and tweaks. The PS4 Pro offers the resolution you want, with the price tag and the usability that most gamers would prefer in their chaotic lives. While power is one major factor, in my opinion, there are five factors we need to consider when looking at how the PS5 and the PC will compete: 1. Price PC gaming is expensive. You can’t deny the results, but you’ll easily spend as much or much more on a PC build than a console. For example, I built a PC several years ago that could run everything I threw at it with max settings. It also costed me just over $1,000. Granted, I used it for a long time, but that’s not chump change. That was also just me making a PC that could do 1080p/60fps for modern games at the time. In today’s world, you’ll need something with more horsepower to hit 4K resolutions and utilize HDR like the PS4 Pro. Even if you wanted something that had similar specs to the PS4 Pro, according to PCGamesN, you’d still be spending about a $100 more on that build than the PS4 Pro, and you wouldn’t be able to do 4K on that kind of PC. If you want to go all out and build a PC that runs 4K games and VR like it’s nothing, you’re going to be spending a lot of cash. The entry-level graphics cards will run you $199 on their own. If you want the best of the best, you’re going to spend over $1,500 on … Read More
Gran Turismo Creator: ‘GT Sport Could Run at 8K on PS5’
Right now, the industry seems to be focused on 4K resolution, but that’s just the beginning. Developers and manufacturers are already looking to the future with 8K resolutions! One such developer is Kazunori Yamauchi, creator of the Gran Turismo series. He seems to think the PS5 will blow right past 4K and offer 8K resolutions. Let’s take a look at his predictions, and what the future of 8K resolutions might be like when the PS5 releases! The PS5 Could Run GT Sport at 8K The developer of GT Sport is Polyphony Digital, a studio in Tokyo. Finder.com enjoyed a tour of the studio recently and reported on some very interesting facts from their interview with the series creator Kazunori Yamauchi. During their tour, they saw the incredible amount detail that goes into each car. Even fine print on the tires like the PSI was right where it should be and perfectly legible when zoomed in. What he said next was very interesting: “It takes six months to create a single car. It’s over-specced for PS4 Pro. So we are building for future versions of the console rather than the one we see today. I think it would be no problem to run it at 8K even” This was an interesting quote, as it suggested that Polyphony is already planning on creating a version of GT Sport for the PS5. It’s not too often that you hear about developers over-speccing games for the current generation. It makes sense from a future-proofing standpoint, but only if the developer knows something new is on the horizon. While there wasn’t any direct discussion on the subject of PS5, it’s clear that the developer is preparing for the future by overshooting for the specs of the PS4 and PS4 pro. Is it possible that PS5 will target 8K resolution? Let’s see where the technology stands. The Future of Resolution Beyond 4K is Happening Right Now You’re probably wondering what game on the market right now is going to offer 8K resolution. After all, we’re still growing into the 4K concept. It may surprise you to know that Final Fantasy XV is coming to PC in 2018, and it’s going to support 8K…if your PC can handle it. That’s right, PC Gamer confirmed that the game is coming to PC in 2018, and that the game will support native 4K and up to 8K, along with HDR 10 support. They didn’t reveal any minimum specs because, as Square Enix puts it, “we can’t really define it with current standards now.” If we break it down, 8K resolution is 7680 x 4320 pixels. It’s 16 times more detailed than 1080p. Even mere inches from a massive screen, you wouldn’t be able to make out the individual pixels. The current pioneer of this technology is a Japanese broadcasting company called NHK, which has its Super Hi-Vision video format. This format can provide 8K resolution video and 22.2 channels of audio. While it’s not reasonable to say that 8K … Read More
Most PlayStation Fans Prefer to Wait for the PS5
Gamers are used to have console generations, but all of that has changed. Now, we have the PS4 Pro, along with the standard PS4, to choose from. While this new option is 4K enabled and more powerful, it’s not the PS5. The PS5 is still coming, which leaves gamers with a decision to make: should they wait for the PS5? We ran a poll to ask that very question, and the results were very interesting. Join us as we look at the answers our fans gave us, and how you can decide for yourself. We Asked and The Fans Answered We were curious about how our fans thought of the PS4 Pro. Was it something they had to have, or would they rather keep their PS4 systems and await the inevitable PS5? It was an interesting question to ask. After all, wouldn’t PlayStation fans leap on the opportunity to try out a new console? Well, since the PS4 is more of an upgraded PS4 Pro, the difference wasn’t as striking as a next generation console would be. So, we went to work to see what the fans wanted. As part of our poll, we gave gamers three different choices: Buy the PS4 Pro Wait on the PS5 Neither As of this writing, the poll shows a whopping 60% prefer to wait for the PS5! It’s followed up by those who will buy the PS4 Pro, and the neither crowd came in the last place. So, it’s clear that the majority want to wait on the PS5. It makes sense, given the fact that PS4 Pro is simply an upgraded PS4. The fact that it exists within the same generation as the PS4 means that it will play all of the same games and that all future games will have to work on the PS4 as well. That means that the difference, while noticeable, won’t ever be the generational leap that the PS5 could provide. Sony has also focused intensely on the 4K aspect of the system. While it doesn’t always hit native 4K resolution, the checkerboard rendering it uses does give resolutions well above 1080p. The problem with this is that this is only something that 4K TV owners can have. 1080p owners can get benefits like supersampling, higher frame rates, and better graphics, but these features are rarely advertised or used to their fullest potential. Exceptions include games like Rise of the Tomb Raider, which offers multiple modes for PS4 Pro owners to choose, including higher frame rates or improved graphics. Beyond cases like this, the PS4 Pro hasn’t managed to really offer a major leap. It offers a lot for 4K TV owners, but the incentive for 1080p owners isn’t as high. That being said, if you’ve opted for PlayStation VR, the additional power of the Pro does create noticeably better experiences fairly consistently. Even with these things in mind, the PS4 Pro is still a $400 console. With Microsoft selling the Xbox One X for $499, it’s … Read More
PS5 vs Xbox One X: How Sony Will Dominate
The gaming industry is in a weird place right now. With the release of PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X, we received new consoles that exist in the same generation as their brethren. The power of the Xbox One X could easily be touted as “next-gen,” and yet, Microsoft prefers to keep it in this generation. We already know that Sony is planning to release a PS5 in the future. How will the PS5 compete with the Xbox One X, if at all? Is it all about power and 4K, or are there some key features that should be included in Sony’s next generation console? Join us as we look at how Sony is going to put Microsoft in their place with the PS5. Microsoft Talks Big About Xbox One X Microsoft has been extremely proud of themselves since E3 2017. They often refer to Xbox One X as the “most powerful console ever built” and, while they’re not wrong, it seems to be going to their heads. Even the Microsoft E3 2017 press briefing saw the entire staff wearing t-shirts that stated “I witnessed the most powerful console ever.” They should be proud, though, because the specs on Xbox One X are certainly impressive. Where they should be careful, however, is how they stoke the flames of competition. They’ve poked the bear that is Sony before, and it didn’t go well for them. We all remember the unveiling of the Xbox One and Sony’s excellent rebuttal. Despite this, Phil Spencer still sent some warning shots across Sony’s bow in an interview with Eurogamer. During this interview, he was asked if the $100 price difference between PS4 Pro and Xbox One X concerned him. His response: “I look at Pro as more of a competitor to the Xbox One S, than I do to the Xbox One X. This is a true 4K console. If you just look at the specs of what this box is, it’s in a different league than any other console that’s out there.” He doesn’t even acknowledge the PS4 Pro as a competitor! It’s true that Xbox One X does have more power than the Pro, but if it’s not going to compete with Sony’s current lineup, then the only other option is to compete with the PS5. Should Sony be Worried About Xbox One X? Phil Spencer’s comments about the PS4 Pro were certainly more harsh than one would normally expect from corporate banter, but if he truly believes the PS4 Pro isn’t in the same league as the Xbox One X, does that mean Sony should be worried about the gap in hardware while we all wait for the PS5? Since there is a large gap in the hardware, it’s hard not to wonder if Sony is worried about Xbox One X games looking or playing significantly better. The interviewer mentioned titles where Sony has a marketing deal with them, and asked if Sony anticipates a major difference in image quality for … Read More
Unparalleled Console Upgrades: Should We Fix What Isn’t Broken?
Since the dawn of gaming, there have been a few constants that we never thought would be broken. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft will always be in competition, games based on movies will usually be crappy, and consoles come out in generations. With the release of the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X, that last constant has been forever shattered. Iterative consoles are here, but do they represent the future? Will we never see a quantum leap forward with a next generation machine? Will it always be just one upgrade after another? It’s time we looked at the facts and speculate on the future of console gaming. Shifting The Playing Field: How The Industry Has Changed Until this latest generation, console releases moved at a pretty normal pace. You had the PS1, the PS2, the PS3, and now the PS4. Consoles moved at a relatively predictable pace, but in the background, there was alway this tension between console gamers and PC gamers. As consoles aged, so too did the hardware. While developers always did an incredible job of pushing the consoles to their limits, the gap between console and PC hardware has always represented an elephant in room. As the growth of PC power accelerated, this gap only widened, so it’s only fair that Sony wanted to prevent people from leaping from consoles to PC as the generation goes on. Their solution was to introduce a console that would sit alongside the PS4 within the same generation, but offer additional power that would entice hardcore gamers to stick around instead of jumping to PC. Andrew House, the boss of PlayStation, spoke with Polygon prior to the release of the PS4 Pro, and explained this reasoning behind the iterative upgrade. In the interview Andrew house said: “There’s a dip mid-console lifecycle where the players who want the very best graphical experience will start to migrate to PC, because that’s obviously where it’s to be had. We wanted to keep those people within our ecosystem by giving the very best, and very highest performance quality.” In seeking to hit the PC bar with a console, PS4 Pro doesn’t quite meet the expectation. Thus far, it’s only really focused on 4K, which is something PC gamers enjoy, but the not the sole reason people tend to gravitate to PC for gaming. Other things like frame rates, graphics, and effects are also higher fidelity on a high-powered PC. The PS4 Pro does offer more power, but with almost a year under its belt, I haven’t seen enough from it to convince gamers that it’s the better choice over a PC. This is mostly due to the fact that the console is focused primarily on 4K, which is nice, but PC power offers more than just higher resolutions. Better graphics, higher frame rates, and the option to continuously upgrade are all good reasons to choose it over consoles. Don’t get me wrong, I like the PS4 Pro and I do own one, but I don’t … Read More
The 4K Obsession: Why The Gaming Industry Should Change Focus
For the first time in the history of gaming, we’ve received consoles that are more powerful, but still exist in the same generation. These iterative consoles are known as the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X, and both of them have a similar focus: 4K resolution. You may remember the switch from standard to 1080p resolution, but is this the same kind of leap? Should we be focusing so much time and hardware on hitting 4K? Join us as we look into the 4K obsession that is currently running through the industry, and why we should be focusing on other things instead. A Broad Overview of 4K Resolution Resolution refers to the size of an image, and how many pixels are being displayed on the screen. It is written out as width times height. That’s why you see things like 1920 x 1080p when we’re talking about HD resolution. The “P” stands for progressive scan, which is a technique where each frame is drawn from stop to bottom on the screen during a single refresh cycle. When we get to 4K, the term isn’t completely accurate. It refers to an image that is roughly 4,096 x 2160, or exactly twice the height and width of the film industry’s 2K film standard. We also hear 4K referred to as “UHD” or “Ultra High Definition.” So, essentially you’re getting double the resolution of 1080p. If we do the math, a 1080p image gets 2,073,600 pixels when you multiply the height and width. Meanwhile, 4K gets 8,294,400 pixels, which is four times as many. That’s the math of it all, and it sounds impressive, but there’s one problem. We’re getting into so much fine detail, that we need to ask if this is even perceptible. Can you put an HD television and a 4K television side-by-side and really notice the difference? The answer, like most things in the world of technology, is complicated. Can We Actually See The Difference? Before we open up the playing field to other factors besides resolution, let’s look at how our eyes perceive something as detailed as 4K. With any resolution, there are three major factors that decide how much you notice the difference: your viewing distance, the screen size, and your personal vision. While it’s not fair to assume that everyone has 20/20 vision (I know I don’t), it represents a good starting point. Take a look at this chart below from Carlton Bale This chart shows the relative viewing distance and screen size you’ll need to notice different types of resolutions. For 4K, to get the best experience, you’ll need an 84-inch screen and you’ll need to sit about 5.5 feet away from it. Don’t want to shell out for something that big? In the realm of 4K, a 55-inch screen is considered “small” and if you want to appreciate the difference, you’ll need to sit 3.5 feet or closer! Your mother would be furious if you sat that close as a kid. If you’ve … Read More