Sony has revealed the technical specifications of its upcoming game console PlayStation 5, including 3D audio and support for older PS4 games.
In a blog post, Sony unveiled the technical specifications of the PlayStation 5 (PS5) game console, which will support "almost" all of the top 100 PS4 titles. The company said it will continue to test and add more games from its library of over 4,000 PS4 games.
Last year, Sony announced that the new PlayStation 5 console will be introduced in December 2020 with a new controller that uses enhanced vibration technology. It will also include a solid-state drive (SSD) that will enable faster boot up of games and reduced loading times.
The PS5 have also been upgraded for higher screen resolution and to support ray tracing, which adds more realistic shadow and lighting effects. It can support 4K gaming and even 8K, although 8K has yet to gain traction due to problems with loading graphic-intense games during fast-paced, interactive scenes.
The console's audio feature will be capable of making virtual raindrops sound like they're falling from different directions and can help players pinpoint where an in-game enemy is located.
During Sony's livestream on YouTube, Mark Cerny, lead system architect for the PS5, said this about the team's interest in 3D audio: "We had a dream of what might be possible five years from now."
The talk, which was originally planned for the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco but was postponed over coronavirus concerns, was not received well by consumers.
Some YouTube users found the developer-focused talk, math-heavy and jargon-filled, boring.
The announcement came two days after Microsoft revealed the tech specs of its own Xbox Series X console. One of the key features of the new Xbox console was support for 4K graphics at 60 to 120 frames per second, which allows games to appear smooth during even the most action packed scenes.
Both video game consoles will be released in the 2020 holiday season.
