PS5
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Source: SOPA Images / Getty / PS5
When it comes to moving consoles, Sony remains king.
Sony has a lot to be happy about. Roughly three years after its release, the popularity of the PS5 console remains high, and according to Reuters, the company has reportedly sold over 50 million units.
The Japanese tech giant also says it has the best-ever Black Friday period for the video game console.
Per Reuters reporting, Sony expects to finish the year on a high note thanks to a strong holiday performance, putting the company on pace to reach its sales target of a record 25 million units to close out the current financial year ending March 31.
Eric Lempel, senior vice president for global marketing, sales, and business operations at Sony Interactive Entertainment, said, “Given the momentum we’ve had in November and a lot of what we’re seeing in December, just in general, we’re feeling very good about sales overall.”
Remember that this number could have been higher, but PS5 sales were hampered due to supply chain issues when the console first hit the market.
Still, despite that, you can expect to see a PS5 in a home thanks to a solid first-party game lineup with games like God of War: Ragnarok and, most recently, Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Xbox & Nintendo Are Not Seeing The Same Success With Its Consoles
The outlook isn’t so rosy for the PS5’s direct competitors, Microsoft’s Xbox Series S | X and the Nintendo Switch.
IGN reports the Xbox sales have hit a snag. According to the website, PS5 sales are up “65% to 22.5 million units,” while Xbox’s sales took a dip to “about 15% to 7.6 million.”
The Nintendo Switch, which at one point was impossible to find on shelves during the pandemic, has fallen nearly 20%.
We are curious to see if Sony can continue its dominance in the gaming space in 2024.
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Photo: SOPA Images / Getty
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Source: NurPhoto / Getty / Sony / PS5 / PlayStation
Sony’s PS5 is on its way to being one of the company’s most successful consoles.
It was a successful quarter for Sony regarding PS5 sales. Spotted on Engadget, the company has sold 4.9 million PS5 units during its second financial quarter.
That number now brings the total of PS5 consoles sold to 46.6 million. While impressive is still short of last year’s holiday figures, Sony did manage to move 1.6 million units more than it did in the previous year.
The impressive numbers come as Sony (as well as Nintendo and Xbox) all struggled to keep up with the demand for its PS5 consoles due to global supply chain issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As things slowly got back to “normal” and the shortages began to ease up, Sony was able to ramp up production on the PS5 console.
By the end of July 2023, Sony announced that more than 40 million PS5 units had been sold since the console hit shelves in November 2020.
Sony has set an ambitious target of shipping 25 million PS5 units in this financial year, but to achieve that goal, the company has to move 16.8 million more units.
While it seems like a bit of a stretch, according to Reuters reporting, Sony President Hiroki Totoki believes the goal is something his company “can attain very easily.”
The new “PS5 Slim” model due out this month could be that shot in the arm that Sony needs this holiday season to reach that goal, as the PS5 will surely be on the top of children’s and adult’s Christmas wishlists.
Sony Also Moved A Lot of Games
Hardware/consoles was not the only thing Sony talked about. The company sold 67.6 million games in the second quarter; 4.7 million were first-party titles.
The first-party numbers should also get a boost thanks to Insomniac Game’s Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, which the studio happily announced sold 5 million copies since launching exclusively on the PS5 console.
That’s quite a feat for a game, not Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty, which launches on multiple consoles.
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Photo: NurPhoto / Getty
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Source: NurPhoto / Getty / PS5 / PlayStation 5
Cloud streaming on the PS5 is finally here, and it could alleviate one major headache when utilizing space on your console.
In a recent blog post, Sony broke bread about the cloud streaming feature now available for PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers.
Information about the new feature, including bandwidth recommendations, stands out the most and is not as demanding as some believed it would be.
Per the blog post, Sony recommends 52Mbps for 4K, 38Mbps for 1440p, 23Mbps for 1080p, and 13Mbps for 720p. The recommended settings sit at HDR or SDR at 60Hz; at minimum, the bandwidth drops to 5Mbps for 720p and 38Mbps for 4K.
Another notable tidbit from the blog post is the information we were already privy to: you can only stream PS5 games on your PS5 console.
No games can be streamed on the soon-to-be-released PlayStation Portal companion device, which only allows you to play games over Wi-Fi locally.
Cloud streaming is currently available in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers in Japan enjoy the new features, while European subscribers will see it go live on October 23, and folks in the United States have to wait till October 30.
This could be a helpful game-changer for PS5 console owners and make the PlayStation Plus Premium subscription look even more attractive and worth its asking price.
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Photo: NurPhoto / Getty
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Source: Sony / PlayStation 5 / PS5 Slim
The rumors of Sony dropping a new PS5 model were true, but it’s not the “Pro Model” everyone was anticipating.
On Tuesday, October 10, Sony hit everyone with a big surprise when it unveiled a new, slimmer PS5 model. The new model dubbed the “PS5 Slim,” is slightly smaller and shorter than the original PlayStation 5 disc and all-digital model.
What’s New?
The new PS5 Slim is not only changing esthetically but will also have some improvements. It will also come with a much-needed 1TB of internal storage, and for owners of the new slim all-digital model, a detachable Ultra HD Blu-Ray drive will be available.
The new PlayStation 5 console boasts a significant overall reduction in volume of more than 30 percent and an up to 24 percent reduction in weight, depending on what console you purchase.
There is now a significant bulge on the side where the disc drive is that Sony says you can replace with a side panel if you’re not feeling the look.
Source: Sony / PlayStation 5
“There are four separate cover panels, with the top portion in a glossy look, while the bottom remains in matte,” Sid Shuman, senior director of SIE content communications, notes while speaking on the new console’s design in a blog post.
For those who purchase the PS5 Digital Edition, you can buy the Blu-ray disc drive later for $79.99. There are now visible slits on the console, giving it a much more sleeker look.
Gone is the single USB-C and USB-A ports. Instead, dual USB-C ports will be on the front of the console.
Source: Sony / PlayStation 5
Unlike the previous model, the new PlayStation 5 model will have a new horizontal stand. You have to dish out $29.99 separately if you want a vertical one.
Source: Sony / PlayStation 5
Price & Release Date
Source: Sony / PlayStation 5
The new PS5 model will arrive in North America in November at select retailers and Sony’s PlayStation Direct site for $449.99 without a drive or $499.99 with one.
Shuman says that the new PS5 model “will continue to roll out globally in the following months,” says Shuman. “Once inventory of the current PS5 model has sold out, the new PS5 will become the only model available.”
The announcement of the new PS5 model comes after an Insider Gaming report hinting at the tech giant working on a PS5 console with a detachable drive.
It also follows the massive Xbox leak revealing Microsoft’s plans to drop a “console refresh” of the Xbox Series X.
As you can imagine, the video game world is reacting to the news.
You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
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Photos: Sony
1. Interesting
2. Talk Yo Shi*t
3. The price hike does suck.
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Source: NurPhoto / Getty / PlayStation Showcase
Rumor has there is a PlayStation Showcase on the horizon.
There have been rumblings about a PlayStation Showcase happening, and according to one very reliable insider, it could be right around the corner.
Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb shared a schedule on Twitter on Monday detailing what gamers could look forward to in the form of gaming events filling in the void left behind by E3 after it announced it was not happening this year.
On the list were several events we already knew were going down in Los Angeles, but to the surprise and excitement of many, PlayStation Showcase sat at the top of that list, and it’s expected to happen the week of May 25th, according to Grubb.
In a follow-up tweet, he added that it could happen before the 25h, but “that’s probably the latest that week it could happen.”
Grubb is not one to put out baseless information on his Twitter account, and because he is sharing a date means that he’s pretty confident the showcase is happening.
What Games Will Be Shown During The PlayStation Showcase?
Now, the main question is, what the hell will PlayStation show at this showcase? Unlike its smaller scale State of Play presentations that are usually just a collection of trailers and sometimes deep dives in the case of Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, PlayStation Showcases are usually big events where Sony pulls out the bangers.
Many believe we could get our first look at gameplay from Insomniacs’ Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, which is still coming sometime this year, and more gameplay footage from Final Fantasy XVI or Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
Will PlayStation Drop A Konami Bomb?
But, rumors are floating around that Konami will boast a huge presence during the PlayStation Showcase showing off the Silent Hill 2 Remake, which we already know is a PlayStation exclusive, but new to the conversation is a Castlevania game and a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, which might be exclusives on the PS5 for a period of time.
This all according to podcast host Nick Baker, so take this news with a grain of salt, but if true, this could be huge for PlayStation, and another sour note for Xbox owners.
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Windows Central editor Jez Corden also said he “heard similar” news about Metal Gear Solid exclusivity to PlayStation. In a follow-up tweet, he wrote, “Just heard Sony landed a deal with Konami for Silent Hill, Metal Gear, and maybe even a new Castlevania.”
Again, we shall wait and see, but you know the video game Twitter is chatting about it. You can see all the reactions in the gallery below.
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Photo: NurPhoto / Getty
2. If these rumors are true, Sony wins the year again
4. A Spider-Man 2 date would be nice
7. Seeing some Wolverine action would be nice.
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Source: SOPA Images / Getty / PS5
It’s a new year, and Sony is declaring if you want a PS5, you should now be able to get one.
Sunday clips of a new PlayStation television ad shown on Australian television hit folk’s Twitter timelines showing Spider-Man giving gamers hope some information about Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was coming.
It turns out that clip is a part of Sony’s new “Live From PS5” ad campaign celebrating community and welcoming more players to get in on the PlayStation 5 action.
Monday, PlayStation dropped the ad in North America while also sharing the news it would be increasing its PS5 supply.
Per The PlayStation Blog:
To all our fans: thank you for your patience as we navigated unprecedented demand for the PS5 console amid global challenges. If you’re looking to purchase a PS5 console, you should now have a much easier time finding one at retailers globally.
For players in the U.S., U.K, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, be sure to check direct.playstation.com to purchase a PS5 console, games, and accessories directly from PlayStation. PS5 products are also available at participating retailers globally.
This news comes after Sony boss Jim Ryan happily announced the PS5 jig is up during the company’s CES presentation.
“Everyone who wants a PS5 should have a much easier time finding one at retailers globally, starting from this point forward,” Ryan told CES attendees.
2023 Looks Like It Will Be Another Good Year For The PS5
As for the ad, it’s an excellent one-minute spot showcasing upcoming PS5 titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Final Fantasy XVI, plus already released exclusive hits Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Gran Turismo 7, God of War Ragnarok, Destiny 2, Horizon Forbidden West, Returnal, Ghosts of Tsushima, possibly Uncharted and more.
It sounds like PlayStation is gearing up for another stellar year. Xbox already gave its gaming base a taste of what’s to come with its recent Developer Direct presentation, where we got a shock drop with Hi-Fi Rush, which is already getting game of the year nods from players.
In a recent interview, Xbox boss Phil Spencer did not acknowledge the company did not do right by gamers and was “too light on games,” but it looks like Xbox could also have a stellar 2023 to make up for its shortcomings in 2022.
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Photo: SOPA Images / Getty