Why the PS5 is the must-have gaming console of the year and everything you need to know about it

In mid-November, the gaming world fell to its knees when Sony Interactive Entertainment launched the
Playstation 5

. Within minutes, it was sold out at online retailers everywhere.

When the PS5 went on sale on November 12, Sony chose to offer it online only on the first day due to the risks of exposure to COVID-19 in retail stores. As a result of online sales, retail bots were able to buy much of the merchandise from Walmart and other retailers that offered it in November, as described by the BBC, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to buy a PS5 for themselves. or as a gift for the holidays.

Demand is high, in part, because this is essentially the first new PlayStation since the PS4 came out seven years ago. There are two versions of the PS5. There is a $ 400 digital-only mode, the digital edition, and a $ 500 console version, the PS5 disc edition. The only difference between the two is that the console edition includes an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive to allow for PS5 Blu-ray disc games, PS4 Blu-ray disc games, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray video. , Standard Blu-ray and DVD.

SEE: Guide to becoming a champion of digital transformation (TechRepublic Premium)

Why is the PS5 important

This is truly the next generation of PlayStation. The PS5 has better graphics and high refresh rates. The PS5 has an 8K output and delivered 4K graphics at a 120Hz refresh rate. This provides realistic effects in games.

The audio is better too. It supports 3D audio and Sony has created the Pulse 3D wireless headphones (which have also been out of stock), although the units have been sporadically available at various retailers this month.

There is also a new DualSense controller for the PS5. The design is the same with a directional pad and buttons on the top half, two control sticks on the bottom, and a center touch bar as on the DualShock 4, but the shape is new and has a sleek black and white design that it’s different for PlayStation. It has haptic feedback and a built-in microphone, as well as a speaker. It has a USB-C plug as a power connection and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Needless to say, the PS5 is great, it’s the first thing you notice. The drive version is 15.4 x 10.2 inches. That compares to the PS4, which measures 12 x 10.8 inches. Anyone who buys it will need to make sure they find space for it on their shelf. While that’s the least of most people’s problems, all the cool new features mean finding one is the hardest part.

Games for PS5

The PS5 comes with Astro’s Playroom as a pre-installed game. There is also Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales which is a continuation of the PS4 Spider-Man 2018. There is a list of exclusive PS5 games and some that are also available for PS4. The good news is that there is backward compatibility, so most PS4 games will play on the PS5.

Other new and exclusive PS5 games include:

• West horizon forbidden
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• Gran Turismo 7
• Return
• Sackboy: a great adventure
• The souls of the devil
• Destruction AllStars

Cyberpunk 2077, which was also available on PS4 and Xbox One, has been pulled from the PlayStation Store and Sony is offering refunds after a series of glitches and glitches that resulted in poor game performance, according to Chris Pereira and Hayley Williams. at Gamespot.

Why retail bots are a concern for anyone looking to buy the PS5

The problem with retail bots is that they can buy all units of a product in demand as soon as it drops and then the item is usually resold at high prices for a profit. That has happened time and again with the PS5, as the BBC describes it. Some resellers using bots brag about the practice and display photos of their piles of merchandise on social media, according to Business Insider.

In the UK, some legislators are proposing a ban on the use of bots to facilitate the resale of game consoles and computer components above the manufacturer’s suggested retail price.

“Whether it’s legal or not, malicious actors will always use bots to try to store and resell high-demand retail items like game consoles. That horse has left the barn and, as we’ve seen in the US, it’s a threat that is unlikely to decrease during the legislature because bot writers and operators are very difficult to track down.

Some retailers may not be motivated to work too hard to mitigate this ‘threat’ because at the end of the day they are guaranteed to sell their inventory, “said Jason Kent, resident hacker at Cequence Security.” But when consumers are constantly disappointed, customer satisfaction takes a hit and loyal customers can start to send their business elsewhere. At the same time, manufacturers have started to put real pressure on retailers to stop this behavior. The only retailers that are succeeding, and the only way to effectively mitigate these bots, is by using automated behavioral analytics to differentiate between human and bot web traffic. Retailers that can do that are being rewarded for their efforts. “

Specifications for PS5

Processor: Up to 3.5 GHz 8-core AMD Ryzen Zen 2 architecture CPU

Graphics: AMD Navi / RDNA 2-family GPU with 36 CUs up to 2.23 GHz (10.3 TFLOPS, FP unit unknown)

Video memory: 16GB GDDR6 with 256-bit interface (448GB / sec)

Storage: 825GB SSD at 5.5GB / sec; NVMe SSD slot; USB HDD support

Optical drive: 4K Blu-ray Disc Edition only

Maximum output resolution: 8K 60fps; 4K 120 fps

Audio: 3D, custom Tempest Engine hardware accelerated; available on headphones only at launch, virtual sound supplemented for speaker audio

Virtual reality support: compatible with PSVR headsets

Console streaming: available for remote use

Disc version dimensions: 390 x 104 x 260 mm / 15.4 x 4.1 x 10.2 in.

Dimensions for digital edition: 15.4 x 3.6 x 10.2 inches / 390 x 92 x 260 mm

Price: With optical drive (disk version): $ 500, £ 450, AU $ 750; without optical drive (digital edition): $ 400, £ 360, AU $ 600

Technology newsletter that you can use

We deliver the top business technology news about the companies, people and products that are revolutionizing the planet. Delivered daily

sign up today

See also