PS5 coming in 2020; controller supports haptic feedback, trigger resistance
In an interview with Wired, Sony confirmed that their upcoming PS5 console will be released in “holiday 2020.”
The name of the system is confirmed as well. As expected, Sony’s next-generation console will be called PlayStation 5 – PS5 for short – continuing the company’s tradition of sticking to numerical order. It keeps the respected brand consistent.
“It’s nice to be able to say it,” says Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan. “[It is] like a giant burden has been lifted from my shoulders.”
We already know that the PS5 will come with an SSD. We also know now that the system will support a high-capacity Blu-ray. Physical games on PS5 will use Blu-ray discs up to 100GB in size. The system’s optical drive will double as a Blu-ray player capable of playing movies in 4K.
In addition, Sony made two separate announcements regarding the DualShock 5 controller. The first is that the controller will support haptic feedback instead of rumble technology. Haptic technology provides a broader range of feedback.
The second change is adaptive triggers. Developers will be able to adjust 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.”
“In combination with the haptics, this can produce a powerful experience that better simulates various actions,” Sony says.
Wired‘s Peter Rubin demoed the new technology and provided this description of his experience:
I ran a character through a platform level featuring a number of different surfaces, all of which gave distinct—and surprisingly immersive—tactile experiences. Sand felt slow and sloggy; mud felt slow and soggy. On ice, a high-frequency response made the thumbsticks really feel like my character was gliding. Jumping into a pool, I got a sense of the resistance of the water; on a wooden bridge, a bouncy sensation.
Pretty neat, I must say. If you want to learn more about haptic feedback technology, check out the video below.
We don’t yet know a lot of crucial details about the PS5, like the console’s launch lineup and price. Still, today’s announcements are a decent piece of the overall puzzle.
