Earlier today, Sony held a presentation about the PlayStation 5. In that presentation (named ‘The Future of Gaming’), they showed off the console for the first time, as well as various games that are heading to said system in future.
It was a neat enough video, and given its importance to the gaming industry, one we thought we’d cover in an article even on a Nintendo focused site like this one.
So here’s the trailer for the system from the presentation:
As well as some pictures showing off the console and its controller:
As you can see, it’s a console with quite the interesting design overall.
With the interesting part coming from how ‘retro futuristic’ the thing looks overall. Indeed, if you asked an animator on a show like The Jetsons what kind of console they’d be playing there, you’d probably get something a bit like the PS5 here.
And it’s a change we’re genuinely happy to see here. After all, it stands out in a sea of brick like systems, and for better or worse, looks like something that actually has its own identity for once.
So kudos on that one Sony. You’ve created something kinda new, even if it looks does look rather strange when displayed horizontally rather than vertically:
However, the presentation didn’t just cover the console’s aesthetics here.
No, it also covered the different console variations too.
Since unlike many past iterations of the PlayStation, the PS5 isn’t just being sold as a single system that supports both physical and downloadable games.
Instead, it’s being sold with two models in mind. One that’s digital only and can only be used to play downloadable games, and one with a physical disc drive.
This means that you can now save a bit of money by buying the former if you don’t mind not really ‘owning’ your games, or spend a bit more and get access to both types of games at once.
It’s a good setup overall, and one which seems like it’ll be a lot better than requiring you to buy everything digitally (like with the ol’ Xbox One that Microsoft originally showed off) or making you stream all your games rather than own them (like with Google Stadia).
At least this way, you get a choice on the matter, and get to choose what you’d rather prioritise on your new games console.
Which of course brings us to the most important aspect of any console. Namely, the games it has available to play on it.
And this is where many systems have failed in the past. Most third parties failed to gain a foothold due to not having any notable games not found elsewhere. The Wii U failed because neither the Nintendo specific games or lacklustre third party titles appealed to a large enough audience.
Hell, even the Xbox One struggled compared to the PlayStation 4 given the number of exclusives on the latter compared to the former.
A bad library will kill a system, especially if backwards compatibility isn’t kept in mind.
Fortunately, from what we’ve seen, the PS5 seems to be doing pretty well in that area too. For starters, it’s compatible with most PS4 games already available on the market, so the existing library is generally usable here too.
And it’s also getting some interesting games of its own too. Like a sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn, a new Resident Evil game and the next Ratchet and Clank game to name just a few.
Here are some more trailers showcasing those games, straight from the same console event:
Of course that’s not to say all of those games are 2020 releases. Obviously they’re not; Resident Evil VIII:age is a 2021 game and Horizon II: Forbidden West is still without an official release date right now.
But it shows promise for the future, and when taken along with the other games in the presentation, shows that third parties have a certain amount of confidence in the system none the less.
So check out the images and videos above, then tell us what you think about the PS5, its design and its games in the comments below!
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