PS5: Sony gives first look at PlayStation 5

Thursday 11 June 2020 23:14 BST

Ps5: Sony gives first look at Playstation 5

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Sony has given its first look at the PlayStation 5 after showing off a host of new games for the console.

The company called the new console its "most striking design yet", and showed images of what appeared to be a tall, curvy tower.

The reveal came at the end of an event focused mostly on new games, which included Spider-Man and Resident Evil sequels.

Sony also showed off a host of accessories, including a new camera, a charging dock for the controller, a media remote and special headphones.

The company has stressed the importance of audio in the new console, including a host of technology able to provide spatial audio, and the new headphones will presumably will work in sync with those features. The headphones are named "PULSE 3D Wireless Headset", suggesting that they will get access to those features.

Sony also showed off an all-digital version of the console, which will not come with a disc drive and presumably cost less than the full-featured version.

All of the consoles and accessories shown used the same predominantly white colour scheme, with elements of black and blue. Sony gave no indication of whether it would offer the console in any other colours.

It also gave no indication of dimensions or whether the PlayStation will be required to be used stood up, but all of the images in the release event showed it in that orientation. The new Xbox Series X is also made to stand up tall.

The company has already given a host of detail on the new DualSense 5 controller that will come with the console. It has referred to it as a "radical departure", and it includes features such as haptic feedback and triggers that can make themselves harder to push.

Until the release event, Sony had shown off much less about the PlayStation 5 than Microsoft had about its rival, the Xbox Series X.

Instead, Sony has preferred to focus on the hardware found inside of the console itself. It has spoken at length about the very fast storage drive inside the PlayStation 5, for instance, and the dramatically improved loading times it will be able to offer.

For both consoles, a number of details remain unannounced, including the price.

Both have a release date of the "Holiday" period at the end of this year.

Almost all of the event was given over to the reveal of games, and Sony and developers showed a host of new titles coming to the platform at its release and afterwards. Before the event, very few details of any titles planned for the new console had been released.

Sony had been intending to hold the event last week, but postponed it amid the George Floyd protests. It was praised for its announcement, in which it noted that "now is not the time".

The company also had to put together the event while complying with lockdown rules, which meant that footage had to be assembled in advance. The company has indicated that the coronavirus outbreak is not likely to cause major problems with the release of the console itself, and that it is still on track for its release date towards the end of this year.