PlayStation 5 launch confirmed: Sony’s new consoles go on sale Nov. 12 starting at $400
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Ready for the PlayStation 5? You can now preorder the new console “at select retailers” for $500 (£450, AU$750) for the Blu-ray equipped version — or $400 (£360, AU$600) for the digital-only PS5. Both consoles will ship on Nov. 12 in the US, with online preorders at some major retailers including Walmart, Best Buy, GameStop and Target already starting (and selling out quickly).
Sony’s PlayStation 5 (left) and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition
Wednesday’s reveal finally gives a firm price and release date for Sony’s next PlayStation beyond the vague “holiday 2020” time frame the company previously used when describing its upcoming system. Sony initially said preorders would begin Thursday before retailers decided to go ahead a day early.
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Microsoft beat Sony to the plate, announcing the rival Xbox Series X and Series S earlier this month. The Xbox Series X and Series S will arrive on Nov. 10 for $500 and $300 respectively.
While Sony’s said the disc-less PS5 will have the same chips and performance of its Blu-ray-equipped cousin, Microsoft’s Xbox Series S is designed as a less powerful sibling of the Series X.
In addition to the console price and release date, Sony also detailed pricing for accessories, including $70 for a standalone DualSense wireless controller and $100 for its Pulse 3D wireless headset. Launch title pricing for the PS5 will range from $50 to $70, depending on the game.
Sony reveals PS5 price and release date
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The pricing caps a long series of announcements from Sony and Microsoft, during which the companies drip-fed information about their competing consoles throughout the year. They chose this approach in part to highlight the new technology in their respective devices, promising faster load times, more detailed environments and more immersive audio.
As the companies discussed their devices, they also showed their different approaches to what they see as the future of gaming. Sony has gone a traditional route, discussing how its new games will be specially tuned for the new hardware, and encouraging gamers to buy the new device to get these new experiences. Microsoft, meanwhile, focused on compatibility, promising many of its games would play on its new Xbox devices, and older ones too.
The pricing news is the latest in a busy summer for Sony. At its virtual event in June, the company showed off its new consoles’ white and blue designs, as well as providing a first look at a host of new games including Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Gran Turismo 7 and Horizon Forbidden West.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales will be a launch title for the PS5, starting at $50 for the standard edition or $70 for an “ultimate” edition that also includes a remastered copy of the original PS4 Spider-Man game as well as its add-on DLC.
Sony also used the event Wednesday to announce PlayStation Plus Collection, a library of hit PS4 games such as God of War and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. The games will be made available to subscribers of its $9.99 per month PlayStation Plus gaming service, offering more than 100 games. Sony didn’t previously offer a direct competitor to Microsoft’s $14.99 per month Xbox Games Pass Ultimate subscription, which offers access to many of the games in its library on console and PC, as well as the ability to stream many of those titles too.
Specs for the PS5 include custom AMD CPUs and GPUs capable of outputting graphics at 8K resolution or at 4K and 120fps, as well 16GB of GDDR6 RAM and 825GB of high-performance solid-state storage that should enable significantly faster load times.