PS5 GAMES PREVIEW
efore we
get into the
games, let’s
take a second
to look back
over the
amazing new
tech that’s going to be powering
them. The core concept of PS5,
lead system architect Mark
Cerny explained in a streamed
talk to tie in to GDC, “is that
game players are here for the
fantastic games, which is to
say that game creators matter.
Anything we can do to make life
easier for the game creators or
help them realise their dreams,
we will do”.
Every couple of years Cerny
travels the globe talking to
developers and asking them
how they’re getting on with
development on PlayStation and
what they’d like in future. For
PS5, the SSD was “the feature
most requested by developers,”
said Cerny. But Sony’s doing
more than just slapping an SSD
in there. PS5’s custom SSD has
been built specifically to handle
the needs of game developers,with
six priority levels of data delivery,
and bespoke hardware designed
to eliminate SSD bottlenecks.It
also uses Kraken compression,
meaning developers will be ableto
fit about 10% more game intothe
same space (which is a big number
in compression terms, as Silicon
Valley viewers may know).
ABSOLUTE UNIT
Yes, the size has been confirmed
as 825GB. It’s not a terabyte, but
what’s important to understand is
that this is a proprietary SSD built
to optimally utilise its 12-channel
interface (essentially meaning
825 is the fastest speed possible).
Plus, PS5 will now feature an
expandable bay so you can increase
that internal memory by slotting
in your own M.2 architecture SSDs
(though Cerny asks you wait for
Sony’s list of approved models
before you buy anything), which
is on top of continuing PS4’s
external USB support.
By going proprietary, Sony is
eking out all the power it can from
PS5 at maximum efficiency, which
makes more of a difference than
merely throwing raw power at the
thing. As Cerny suggested, this
custom SSD is making developers
very excited. “People don’t even
know how big of a leap in terms
of game design can be made,
especially for first-party that
doesn’t have to design to lowest
common denominator,” said Kurt
Margenau, The Last Of Us Part
II’s co-director, on Twitter. “By far
the biggest leap in my career.” In
real terms, not only will loading
screens be almost eradicated,
devs will be able to load objects
around the player near instantly,
meaning more detail can be placed
around them, and there will be less
reliance on tricks like loading data
in behind scenes like elevator rides
or zig-zagging corridors.POWER MOVES
The GPU itself is very different
to PS4’s, on top of being more
powerful. It uses a technology
called‘boost’,butshouldn’tbe
confusedwithoverclocking.
Essentiallyit meansthatinsteadofusinga d er
dependingonhowhardthegame
is workingthehardware(we’veall
heard God Of War causing out PS4
Pros to sound like they’re about to
take off), it instead runs everything
at a constant power, adjusting on
the GPU’s frequency end instead.
Again, it’s all about efficiency. This
is the kind of innovative approach
that only Cerny and his team are
taking in gaming right now.
Even PCs don’t have systems
like this at the moment, and may
end up taking cues from the PS5
in this regard. (Sony has been
working closely with AMD to
develop its proprietary parts.)
The GPU will also be compatible
with ray tracing (optional for
developers), which can really push
the limits of visual and audio
fidelity in a way that’ll work
similarly to upcoming PC GPUs.
“I’ve already seen a PS5 title that
is successfully using ray-tracing-
based reflections in complex
animated scenes, with only modest
[power] costs,” Cerny shared.THE TEMPEST
Which leads into the final and
second most innovative feature ofPS5, after the SSD: Tempest 3D
Audiotech. This is new technology
developed by Cerny and the PS5
team to revolutionise 3D audio. It
will be developed over time, but
at launch will support headphone
use, and you will be able to select
from five different profiles to
match your own hearing range
(everyone hears slightly differently
and has a unique range similar
to a fingerprint). The important
thing for Cerny was to bake this
into PS5 itself, not attach it to a
peripheral, so those fuller audio
spaces can be experienced by all.
So there it is. PS5 is not only
incredibly powerful, it’s incredibly
focused, striking a balance
between innovative proprietary
technology and tools that will be
easy for developers to get used to
(it’s estimated to take them less
than a month to get up to speed,
which is unprecedented). To get a
glimpse of how this tech is being
put to good use, turn the page
and discover the confirmed, and
rumoured, games coming to PS5...CPU
x86-64-AMD Ryzen “Zen 2”
8 Cores / 16 Threads
Variable frequency, up to 3.5 GHzGPU
AMD Radeon RDNA 2-based
graphics engine
Ray Tracing Acceleration
Variable frequency, up to 2.23 GHz
(10.3 TFLOPS)SYSTEM MEMORY
GDDR6 16GB
448GB/s BandwidthSSD
825GB
5.5GB/s Read Bandwidth (Raw)PS5 GAME DISC
Ultra HD Blu-ray, up to 100GB/discVIDEO OUT
Support of 4K 120Hz TVs, 8K TVs,
VRR (specified by HDMI ver.2.1)AUDIO
“Tempest” 3D AudioTechBACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY
Almost 4,000 PS4 games will run on
PS5 at launch, and they’ll feature
higher resolutions and frame rates.WHAT’S IN THE BOX
Enough with the explanations.
What’s actually going on in
there? What are the stats?045hoEssentialllyitmeansthatinsteaaddofi g diiff fD S
E S
.”