PlayStation 5 launch date revealed

Sony has confirmed its next games console will be named the PlayStation 5, and will be launched at the end of next year.

The videogames giant said the new console will be released in time for Christmas 2020, complete with a new controller that uses enhanced vibration technology that will help make games feel more realistic.

Jim Ryan, president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, said the firm wants to “deepen the feeling of immersion when you play games” through the controller.

Sony also confirmed the next-generation console will feature hardware updates including a new solid-state drive, which it says will reduce loading times.

The PS5 will support ray-tracing, a digital technology that enables more realistic recreation of lighting in the virtual 3D environments found in modern videogames.

The updates appear similar to those promised by rival Microsoft for its own next-generation Xbox console, currently known as Project Scarlett, which is also due to be released at the end of next year.

Ryan said the new PlayStation 5 controller will help make gaming more realistic on the new console. “There are two key innovations with the PlayStation 5’s new controller. First, we’re adopting haptic feedback to replace the ‘rumble’ technology found in controllers since the fifth generation generation of consoles,” he said.

Adaptive triggers

“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.

“The second innovation is something we call adaptive triggers, which have been incorporated into the trigger buttons (L2/R2). 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.”

Sony has not yet released any images of the console or confirmed any launch games, but Ryan said the company would share more details about the console in the months to come.