Sony won't make its usual appearance on the E3 press conference this year, but the company sure is keen on revealing bit of information of its next-gen console. The PlayStation 5 is capable of supporting 8K graphics, SSD storage, 3D audio, and backwards compatibility with existing PS4 titles. That SSD storage should be able to enhance load times greatly, and Sony was sure to display some demonstrations of exactly that.
In a Sony investor relations meeting, the tech giant showcased load times of the PlayStation 5 using Spider-Man to load cities and quickly navigate throughout them. While the PS4 took around eight seconds to load a level in the game, the PS5 did the same in less than a second. The next-gen console also handled dynamic maps better than loaded portions of a game as a player moves throughout them, showing no signs of pausing or the classic spinning circle when you navigate from one portion of a map to another.
Sony's official video comparing performance of PS4 Pro vs next-gen PlayStation pic.twitter.com/2eUROxKFLq — Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj) May 21, 2019
Sony will continue to use PS4 games, presumably as a marketing move, which according to the company is critical for the success of the PS5. The company also promised that more AAA titles will come for the PS4, seeing as it will continue to be an "engine of engagement and profitability" for the next three years or so. It's somewhat a hint that Sony will price the PS5 at a loss, as it still has to rely on the PS4 to attract early adopters.
Pricing and release dates remain to be seen, but the PS5 won't be released in the next 12 months for sure. No word about the general user experience and game titles either, but Sony has dropped hints that point to cloud gaming.
"We will leverage backwards compatibility to transition our community to next-gen faster and more seamlessly than ever before," the company's presentation said at the event.
It's now safe to assume that the PS5 will share some similar features with the PS4, but the next-gen console will be powered by all-new CPU and GPU, according to system architect Mark Cerny.
In an interview, Cerny says that the PS5 will use a third-gen AMD Ryzen CPU with eight cores and a custom GPU built on AMD's Radeon Navi line. The GPU will support a rendering technique called ray tracing exclusive to high-end gaming PCs at the moment, which will provide the upcoming console immersive 3D audio capabilities.
Sony also wants future PS5 owners to consider streaming as an option. The company plants to improve the quality of its PlayStation Now offerings to encourage people get used to streaming just as they see discs and downloads.
