PlayStation Magazine - 05.2020

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 able to
fit about 10% more game into the
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’, but shouldn’t be

confused with overclocking.

Essentially it means that instead of

using a d er

depending on how hard the game

is working the hardware (we’ve all

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 of

PS5, 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 GHz

GPU

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 Bandwidth

SSD

825GB

5.5GB/s Read Bandwidth (Raw)

PS5 GAME DISC

Ultra HD Blu-ray, up to 100GB/disc

VIDEO OUT

Support of 4K 120Hz TVs, 8K TVs,

VRR (specified by HDMI ver.2.1)

AUDIO

“Tempest” 3D AudioTech

BACKWARDS 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?

045

h

o

Essentialllyit meansthatinsteaadd of

i g diiff f

D S

E S

.”