Sony last launched a PlayStation console almost three years ago, and unsurprisingly, keen fans are eager to see what it has in store next. The tech giant has finally confirmed the name and launch date for the PlayStation 5, amid the vast number of rumours circulating about the console. From a touchscreen controller panel to digital trade-ins, the rumours suggest that we’re in for an absolute treat. Here’s a roundup of the rumours, including the release date, price and key features.
Key Features
In a recent blog, Sony CEO Jim Ryan revealed some of the key innovations to expect in the PlayStation 5 controller. The first innovation is haptic feedback, which will replace the ‘rumble’ technology in current controllers. Mr Ryan explained: “With haptics, you truly feel a broader range of feedback, so crashing into a wall in a race car feels much different than making a tackle on the football field. “You can even get a sense for a variety of textures when running through fields of grass or plodding through mud.” Secondly, Sony is including ‘adaptive triggers’ in the controller’s trigger buttons. Mr Ryan added: “Developers can program the resistance of the triggers so that you feel the tactile sensation of drawing a bow and arrow or accelerating an off-road vehicle through rocky terrain.
“In combination with the haptics, this can produce a powerful experience that better simulates various actions.” Meanwhile, an image of what could be the PlayStation 5 console and controller has been posted on Reddit – although they’re pretty unattractive. But before you worry about the PlayStation 5’s design, it’s important to note that there’s a big catch. HotHardware, who first spotted the image, highlights that the photos show developer kit devices, meaning the final console and controller could look very different. It said: “Development hardware is designed to deliver full functionality of a product to allow developers to work with the system, rather than providing the experience of a retail production-ready product.” The console is pretty chunky, suggesting it may need more space for cooling, or have a larger graphics modules. Meanwhile, the controller has a touchscreen at the top – a feature we’ve now heard rumoured several times.
As with most image leaks, it’s important to keep in mind that this could just be an impressive example of photoshop. The PS5 is also rumoured to feature digital trade-ins. The feature was spotted by Jackofallcontrollers in a patent recently filed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. According to the patent, Sony is looking into both digital gifting (a fairly standard feature), and digital trade-ins. The patent said: “Tradable physical collectible objects are described. In particular, systems and methods for using the tradable physical collectible objects facilitate generation of a digital copy that can be used within a network game. “A user can use the digital copy and perform various modifications to the digital copy. A value can be determined for the digital copy based on the various modifications. “At a later date, the user (e.g., owner) is free to give away, sell or trade the digital copy to another party in transaction with terms based on, for example, the determined value of the digital copy.”
Games
Despite knowing little about the PlayStation 5 itself, we may know the console’s first game.
Daedalic Entertainment has announced that it’s developing a new game called The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, that’s set to launch.
This just happens to be the same year the PlayStation 5 is expected to be unveiled.