PlayStation exec talks PS5 console details, rules out 2019 launch

PlayStation 4 designer Mark Cerny introducing the PlayStation 4 in February 2013. — AFP Relaxnews

Mark Cerny, architect of the PlayStation 4 console, has sketched out some of the next PlayStation's hardware specifications: a solid state hard drive, custom 8K graphics chip and 3D audio, and compatibility with the PS4 and PS VR.

The next PlayStation console will support 8K graphics, 3D audio, existing PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR games and will contain a solid state hard drive for much faster loading times.

That's according to Mark Cerny, designer and joint programmer of 1984's Marble Madness, and lead architect of 2013's PlayStation 4, as per a new interview with Wired.

Cerny's interview is part of a co-ordinated strategy to tease the PlayStation 5, with the console brand's social media accounts promoting its distribution.

The article also implies that Death Stranding, a much-anticipated collaboration between game designer Hideo Kojima (ex-Metal Gear Solid series) and film and TV's Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), Guillermo del Toro (Pacific Rim) and Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal), may launch on both PlayStation 4 and the next PlayStation console.

Marvel collaboration Spider-Man would also appear to be in the works for the new PlayStation and the insinuation implies that PlayStation's two other big upcoming exclusives, Ghost Of Tsushima and The Last Of Us Part 2 are being developed with both consoles in mind.

Xbox is expected to unveil and launch a new Xbox One revision over the coming weeks, the Xbox One S All Digital, but unlike it, the next PlayStation will still read optical disc media.

Even so, in overtaking the PlayStation 4 Pro's power through the Xbox One X and outdoing the PlayStation Plus monthly subscription through its Xbox Game Pass, Xbox has turned the tables on its traditional rival and secured an enviable position ahead of the next round of console competition.

Meanwhile, tech giant Google is preparing to enter console-quality gaming through online game streaming service Stadia, being readied for deployment later in 2019.

On that front, Sony has PlayStation Now and Microsoft has Project xCloud, currently in active development. – AFP Relaxnews