Sony Announces PlayStation 5. Here’s What You Need to Know

Sony announced PlayStation 4’s long awaited successor, the PlayStation 5 (or PS5) on Tuesday, finally revealing details after remaining conspicuously quiet over the last couple years.

The announcement comes after Sony skipped E3, the U.S.’s largest gaming convention, this year. At E3, Sony’s main video game console competitor, Microsoft released details of its next generation Xbox console, which it calls Project Scarlett.

Now, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan is giving PlayStation fans some details about the PS5, like its release date, its new controller, and how the next console war might shake out.

When is the PS5’s release date?

The PS5 will release for the holiday season 2020, Ryan says. That will make for some crowded stores come 2020, as Microsoft’s next generation Xbox console, currently named Project Scarlett, is slated to be released at the same time.

What is the PS5 controller news?

The PS5 new controller reportedly looks very similar to the DualShock 4 that was released with the PS4, according to a report from Wired. It will get a haptic feedback update that uses motion and vibration to make the game feel more realistic.

Ryan says this will replace the rumble technology that has become universal in both Sony and Microsoft’s console controllers, as well as handheld systems.

The new controller, which is still unnamed but will likely be called the DualShock 5, will also get adaptive triggers on the L2 and R2 buttons on the back of the controller.

“Developers can program the resistance of the triggers so that you feel the tactile sensation of drawing a bow and arrow or accelerating an off-road vehicle through rocky terrain,” Ryan said in a statement.

What are the PS5’s specs?

The new PlayStation 5 will get a complete hardware overhaul, Sony says. This includes a solid state drive that will reduce load times. Following in the footsteps of previous PlayStation models that doubled as entertainment devices, the PS5 will have a 4K Blu-ray player. The PS5 will also get ray-tracing, a technology that allows for more complex lighting and sound effects.

What PS5 news is still unknown?

While Ryan gave a general holiday 2020 time frame for the PS5 release, there’s no set date on the calendar, yet. Start saving now, because the PS5 price is also still a question at this point. Details on what games will ship with the PS5 have not been released yet, but it will feature backwards compatibility, so PS4 fans can breathe a sigh of relief. The console’s design has not been revealed either, but with about a year until the console goes on sale, more information is sure to come.