Sony’s next-gen PS5 will have ray tracing, AMD tech, and PS4 backwards compatibility
We’ve had our first glimpse at Sony’s next-gen console as Mark Cerny, taking the role of lead system architect again, has spilled the beans to tech magazine Wired.
Wired’s piece on Sony’s as-yet-unnamed-but-will-probably-be-called-PS5 console has a bunch of information, but the crucial information is that Sony’s next-gen console won’t be launching in 2019.
From here, you can speculate that 2020 is a likely launch date, especially if they are showing things already.
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The post is a bumper crop of news. In terms of hardware, we’re looking at an AMD Ryzen CPU, a brand new AMD Navi card, and a specialised SSD. Look past this, and Cerny spends a lot of time talking about how the maybe-PS5 will be packing ray tracing, delivering the first taste of video game ray tracing to console players.
Elsewhere, Mark Cerny suggested the jump between generations would be gradual, something we’ve seen with many of the PlayStation launches over the years. Many of the big games will launch for both the PS4 and its next-gen model, with Cerny hinting at a possible dual-release of forthcoming Norman Reedus simulator Death Stranding. However, because the Maybe-PS5 was built on the same architecture to the PS4, backwards compatibility is confirmed for that console.
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In addition, dust off that PlayStation VR, as that will be usable on the new console, and the report has no mention of a new and improved VR headset.
The device will still be taking physical media, however when asked about Microsoft and Google’s cloud gaming strategies, Cerny said that Sony also had something in the works: “We are cloud-gaming pioneers,” Cerny says. “Our vision should become clear as we head towards launch”
The massive splurge of information puts us firmly into the PR campaign for Sony’s new machine, and we’re seeing urgency on Sony’s side too, as the article states that the company “recently accelerated its deployment of devkits so that game creators will have the time they need to adjust to its capabilities.”
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
