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(CNN) – Sony’s new PlayStation 5 goes on sale on November 12 and has been highly anticipated by gaming enthusiasts.
The company’s latest console, the PlayStation 4, dominated the gaming world and outsold the Xbox One. Seven years since the initial launch of the PS4, the Japanese entertainment giant is looking to replicate that success with the PlayStation 5.
To convince gamers to splurge $ 500 on the next generation, the PS5 relies on updated graphics, a recently redesigned controller, and more exclusive games. Notably, the console launches at the same time as “Spider-Man: Miles Morales,” a sequel to the 2018 fan favorite “Spider-Man.”
I tested the standard version of the console, provided by Sony before launch, for a week, comparing it to the PlayStation 4 Pro, a mid-generation update released in 2016. Tried demanding games like “Spider-Man: Miles Morales”, explored the Sony tools for recording and capturing games and I noticed how the controller felt in my hands.
There is a cheaper version of the PS5 that does not have a disc drive, called the PS5 Digital Edition, for $ 400. Otherwise, the two consoles have the same technical specifications, but you will have to download or stream all your games for the Edition. digital.
How does it work
Let’s first consider how games look and feel on the PS5.
More TVs are 4K these days, so for anyone still using an original PlayStation 4 that only plays at 1080P screen resolution, the PS5 offers a nice upgrade to 4K. But for someone with a 2016 PlayStation 4 Pro, which can run 4K, the increase in smoother graphics may not seem significant.
The PS5 claims to support 8K, but the console’s resolution is limited to 4K in settings.
Sony said the PS5 supports 8K displays at launch and will be able to display 8K “after a future software update.”
Where the PlayStation 5 starts to make its case is in its superior processing power and graphics. It is much more powerful than the PlayStation 4 Pro and can launch games quickly and with greater visual clarity.
While playing an open-world horseback riding game like “Ghost of Tsushima,” a PlayStation exclusive, the grass and plains looked sharper and sharper on PS5 than on PlayStation 4 Pro. Those visual benefits can be easy to spot. overlook if you don’t look closely, and they may not be a selling point for gamers on a budget who don’t care about having the best graphics.
The PlayStation 5 loads games 10-20 seconds faster than the PlayStation 4 Pro. It can also read physical discs a few minutes faster. That could make a difference for impatient players.
Both consoles generate a decent amount of fan noise when reading physical discs or downloading new games from the internet. Sony said their goal for the PS5 was to make it quieter, but from our observation, they were both moderately noisy. The Xbox Series X, by comparison, is much quieter than its predecessor, the Xbox One X.
All the consoles I tested reach around 120 degrees in temperature when engaged in intense gameplay.
Sony loses out when it comes to entertainment and other apps it offers on the PS5. It has just 24 apps, compared to more than 50 on the Xbox Series X. Sony offers apps like Netflix and Hulu, but several are missing that can be found on Series X like Pandora, Sling or Starz.
Games supported
The most striking part of PlayStation 5 is its next-gen games, which will be available on launch day.
One of them comes pre-installed on every console. “Astro’s Playroom,” a three-dimensional platformer, feels next-gen right from the start. It’s a great showcase for the redesigned PlayStation 5 controller.
The game takes up about 11GB of space, which might be annoying for gamers looking to preserve every last gigabyte, but it’s Sony’s way of immediately launching you into action when you load up the console.
“Astro’s Playroom” makes creative use of the PS5’s new controller capabilities, including a point where you can blow into your controller to get a fan of the game to blow it up harder.
The game makes use of the PS5 controller’s speaker to bring those sounds closer together and make the environment feel more real. The PS4 controller also had a speaker, but not all games used it.
Then there’s Sony’s exclusive PS5 flagship “Spider-Man: Miles Morales,” which heightens the excitement with a new protagonist seen in the hit 2018 movie “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” It is set in Harlem, New York, and features ray tracing, a technology that adds more realistic lighting and shadow effects.
For starters, the game has you change the brightness settings, while showing Miles Morales playing with his phone on the subway. It’s a nice transition to a game that features a lot of spider webs and controller rumble during fights against gangsters and super villains. It’s the perfect demonstration of the capabilities of the PlayStation 5.
While the biggest draw on the PlayStation platform will continue to be games, not all new titles are exclusive to the PS5. “Miles Morales” will be available on PlayStation 4, which might put some people off updating right away. Meanwhile, “Astro’s Playroom” is exclusive to PS5.
An optimized version of “Ghost of Tsushima” takes full advantage of the PS5 controller, exuding very specific “thumping” vibrations when the samurai lands on their feet, while the PS4 controller gives a more generic rumble for the same action.
The PS5 comes with 825GB of storage, which I used too fast. The console required 100GB to run apps and games properly, leaving me with around 700GB to download games. I was able to put in nine games before running out of space. Additional storage can be purchased, which could increase the price.
Everything else you need to know
The console itself is taller and wider than the PlayStation 4 and resembles a giant folder and when turned on the black border looks very attractive.
When you first load up the PlayStation 5, you are greeted with a luxurious-looking user interface dotted with iridescent bubbles. It has a black background, suitable for fans of dark mode in applications.
It’s a big difference from the solid blue background of the PlayStation 4 Pro. The new interface also plays music from the games in your library, like jazz from “Persona 5” and hip hop from “Spider-Man: Miles Morales.”
Make sure to transfer your save data from your PlayStation 4 to your PS5, as the system may not do it for you. My PS5 didn’t crossover and save my progress on games like “Ghost” and “Final Fantasy VII: Remake” until I went into settings manually through a complicated process to transfer it. Sony said this data transfer process is common for new PS5 owners. The Xbox Series X, by contrast, offers instant cross-savings.
You can take screenshots or record your game screen for an hour and upload files to social media or a USB drive. That compares to Microsoft, which allows you to easily upload photos and videos to One Drive.
Bottom line
If you already own a PS4 Pro, as opposed to an old 1080p PlayStation, then the benefits of the PlayStation 5 may be a bit more elusive. Still, for $ 500, you get a fancy new UI and slightly more attractive games, but that’s about it.
Sony’s challenge may be getting gamers to update their systems, while the PS4 supports many of the new games that are released. As developers start creating games for PS5 only, the console could get more attractive.
But for people excited to buy right away, the PlayStation 5 doesn’t disappoint with the experiences in “Miles Morales” and “Astro’s Playroom” that hint at the potential for other titles to come. The future of PlayStation is very promising.
This story was first published on CNN.com.
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