PlayStation 5 features for Sony’s Upcoming Console

It's the end of an era (at least, for Sony's gaming console division). But that also means a new dawn approaches: The PlayStation 4, which has thrilled countless gamers around the world for just over five years now, as well as the subsequent release of the PlayStation 4 Pro have both given consumers a taste of gaming in 4K resolution. But the long-awaited PlayStation 5 is on the horizon and it is expected to jump-start the next-generation of consoles.

Sony has been tight-lipped about the details: Exactly when the PS5 will launch as well as what new features and games it'll bring with it, remain a bit of a mystery for now. But we do know for certain that Sony has been readying its new console since at least 2018.

John Kodera, the current deputy president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, stated that the “PS4 is entering [the] final phase of its life cycle,” during a 2018 corporate meeting. The president of Sony, Kenichiro Yoshida, also confirmed Kodera's statement by saying that the company is working on “next-generation hardware.”

Analyst predictions, online job listings, and game rumors have also filled in some of the gaps for what projects might be in the works. Fortunately, we'll know a lot more within the next few months, at most.

Traditionally, console companies have released new hardware every five or six years. The major exception was the most recent set of launches, with the PS4 and Xbox One arriving a full seven and eight years after their predecessors, respectively. Regardless of which time-line you use, the clock is starting to wind down.

Play Station 5: Release Date

Sony has yet to reveal anything about when gamers should expect to see the PS5, much less when they can actually get their hands on it. One investment analyst believes PS5 could be released between the end of 2020 and April 2021.

Another analyst, Avi Greengart, research director for consumer devices at GlobalData previously told Inverse that he expects to see Microsoft's new Xbox at E3 2019 in June and the PS5 not far behind.

“I'm expecting Microsoft to announce the new Xbox at E3 in 2019, but actually ship the console in 2020,” he said “Microsoft could very well beat Sony to market in 2020 by launching the next Xbox in the Spring of 2020 rather than November just ahead of the holidays.”

Other analysts envision a similar timeline. Hideki Yasuda, with the Ace Economic Research Institute, also believes the PS5 will launch in 2020. However, Yasuda thinks it'll beat the Xbox to market.

It's too early to say for sure when the consoles will ship, but there's a strong analyst consensus that the consoles will be unveiled in the Spring, with an official roll out coming about a year later in 2020.

Playstation 5: Price

There hasn't been a peep about how much the PS5 will cost either, but don't expect it to stray too far from how much the PS4 cost at launch. Back in late 2013, Sony's current-generation console started at $399 and it's since been dropped down to $299 by major retailers.

While the PS5 will definitely far exceed the capabilities of its predecessor, expect a $399 to $499 price range assuming Sony continues to follow their previous pricing strategy. And they have good reason to, it has been proven wildly successful even today.

Sony announced that it has sold more than 91 million PS4 units worldwide since launch, during its most recent earnings call. So there's good reason to believe the company would want to recreate this magic for its next release

Play Station 5: New Features

So far there are two major features emerging from the rumor mill: The PS5 will let you play vintage games and it'll double down on virtual reality.

The PS 5's retro-features come to us thanks to a widely reported Japanese patent spotted by the tech blog Gear Nuke. It suggested that Sony's upcoming console will be backwards compatible, allowing it to run games dating all the way back to the original PlayStation. This means users who have a stack of retro games could just pop in their discs and bring back the nostalgia.

Sony might also be using the launch of the PS5 to push its VR efforts, according to subscription news outlet SemiAccurate. The article was summarized in a forum and states that the console will come with a VR-focused chipset making it powerhouse for the immersive gaming.

PS5: New Games

Here are a few potential game releases that could come soon after the launch of the PS5:

• The Last of Us: Part 2
• Ghost of Tsushima
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Call of Duty PS5
• FIFA PS5
• PES PS5
• Battlefield PS5
• Final Fantasy 7 Remake

There will likely be way more games where those came from. Sony partnered with a multitude of game developers to release a several PS4 exclusive titles, like Spider-Man, God of War, and Detroit: Become Human. Expect more of the same, as well as potentially new VR capabilities, when the next generation of console gaming finally kicks off.