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Sony’s next PlayStation 5 video game console will cost $ 500 and will launch on November 12, the company said Wednesday, preparing a Christmas battle with Microsoft’s Xbox Series X on whose new console will appear under more trees this year.
Video game fans have been itching for the new consoles, and not just because they’ve been stuck inside since March. The roughly seven-year life cycle of a video game console has come to an end. Both predecessor consoles, Xbox One and PlayStation 4, were released in 2013.
The new consoles promise faster loading times, improved graphics, and new games. Sony’s console is also more expensive this time; the PS4 launched for $ 400 in 2013.
Sony’s PS5 will come in two different models: a standard version with an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive for US $ 500 and a digital version without a disc drive that costs US $ 400. While you can still buy games on optical discs, it is increasingly common for gamers to download them in digital form.
The United States, Japan, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea will see the console on November 12; elsewhere they’ll get it a week later.
In a presentation Wednesday, Sony previewed games including “Spider-Man: Miles Morales,” which will be available at launch, and a Harry Potter game, “Hogwarts Legacy,” due out in 2021. It gave a preview of “Final Fantasy XVI”, which will be exclusive to PlayStation, but did not specify when that game will be released.
Last week, Microsoft said its Xbox Series X will cost $ 500 and will debut on November 10, just before the holidays. A reduced version, Xbox Series S, will cost $ 300 and will be available at the same time. Pre-orders begin September 22. New video games at launch include “Assassin’s Creed Valhalla”, “Gears Tactics”, “Dirt 5” and “Watch Dogs Legion”.
Nintendo, which makes another popular console, the Nintendo Switch, won’t release a new model until next year. But Facebook could offer Microsoft and Sony some Christmas competition. It said Wednesday that a new version of its wireless virtual reality headset, the Oculus Quest 2, will begin shipping on October 13, just in time for the holidays.
