PlayStation 5: the PS5 console and games

PlayStation 5 reveal event: a digital-only version of the upcoming next-gen console.

This version of the hardware has no optical disc drive, and is a noticeable thinness and lack of visible disc slot to the digital version where the disc drive is located on the standard model.

There also appears to be one less button on the front of the digital version, which we surmise is because the standard one has a power button and a eject disc button. The digital version would only need a power button, if those functions are indeed what these two design details.

Sony didn’t announce pricing for either devices, in line with Microsoft’s decision not to announce the price of its competing Xbox Series X when it revealed the device earlier this year. When Microsoft released a digital-only Xbox One S last year, it priced it at $50 cheaper than the standard model.

The lack of disc drive might just be for customers who want to buy all their games digitally. A lack of disc drive means you won’t be able to use the device as as Blu-ray player, and we’ll have to wait and see later this year, when Sony announces the official price of the PS5.

“At PS5’s launch, we will offer two options: a PlayStation 5 console with an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive and a PlayStation 5 Digital Edition without a disc drive. The PS5 gameplay experience will be the same, so the choice is all yours. While there are some slight differences in the look of each model, for the overall design, we wanted to deliver a console that’s bold, stunning, and unlike any previous generation of PlayStation,” reads a Sony blog post recapping today’s announcements.

The PS5 stands vertically, like the Xbox Series X is primarily designed to be placed, and will include two versions: one with a 4K Blu-ray drive and a pure Digital Edition. The PS5 variant without the optical drive looks substantially thinner than the regular model.

The removal of the drive should mean the Digital Edition of the PS5 is cheaper, but Sony simply revealed the design during its live stream.

Just like the Xbox Series X, the PS5 can be placed vertically or horizontally underneath a TV or monitor. The top of the PS5 unit also appears to include vents for heat dissipation, with USB-A and USB-C ports at the front.

Sony has also created a number of accessories for the PS5, including a DualSense charging station, a new HD camera, a Pulse 3D wireless headset, and a media remote.

Sony’s PS5 hardware design reveal comes months after Microsoft revealed the PC-like look of its next-gen console, the Xbox Series X, all the way back in December 2019.

The console will arrive in the holiday season and is powered by an eight-core AMD Zen 2 CPU and a custom AMD RDNA 2-based GPU. Sony announced the PS5 specs in March, and the custom AMD chips will provide 10.28 teraflops of power using variable frequencies on both the CPU and GPU.

Sony is also using a proprietary SSD solution to boost load times for games. The SSD will provide 825GB of storage and 5.5GB/s of performance. Sony is requiring that all games be installed to the internal SSD to make use of the read speeds. The PS5 will also support 8K graphics, 4K graphics at a 120Hz refresh rate, and 3D audio.