PlayStation 5 has an official release window

After much speculation Sony has now confirmed two important things regarding its new console. 1) Yes, it will be called PlayStation 5 and 2) it’s coming out Holiday season 2020 (read: November/December).

The reveals were made during an exclusive interview between Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan and tech publication Wired. But that’s not all. Ryan, along with system architect Mark Cerny, also shed light on a few new details about the upcoming machine.

Ch-ch-changes

In layman’s terms, Playstation 5 will have the following:

• Faster internal storage, which means you won’t have to wait for games to load between scenes.
• An ability to install the parts of the game you want most (think multiplayer and single-player) and leave the rest.
• The interface will show what multiplayer matches you can join, or what mission you still need to complete, without loading the game first.
• Adaptive controller triggers to give real-time feedback and difference between, say, firing a bow or blasting a shotgun.
• Increased rumble in the controllers for a more realistic feel to what’s happening on screen. For example, you’ll feel the different surfaces in racing games such as sand, tarmac or gravel.

Phew.

No doubt the drip-feed of information will continue right up to the console’s launch.

It also means that PlayStation 5 will go head to head with Microsoft’s new Xbox during the Holiday 2020 period. With PlayStation 4, Sony is far and away the biggest selling console this generation, but can Microsoft rein them back in? Only time will tell.