PlayStation 5 release confirmed for 2020 holiday season; Sony touts new controllers with improved haptic feedback
No specific date has been set for the upcoming console, but next-gen PS5 will have to compete with game streaming services such as Google’s Stadia
Sony has announced that its next-generation PlayStation 5 console, with new immersive features giving players the tactile experience of virtual worlds, would launch for the 2020 holiday season.
The Japanese electronics firm, which had teased its new console earlier this year, said a major new feature of the updated console would be a vastly improved controller.
“One of our goals with the next generation is to deepen the feeling of immersion when you play games, and we had the opportunity with our new controller to reimagine how the sense of touch can add to that immersion,” said Jim Ryan, president and chief executive of Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Nintendo teases circular fitness device for the Switch in new trailer: Is this the Wii Fit 2?
The new controller will offer “haptic feedback” that brings players closer to the action of games.
“With haptics, you truly feel a broader range of feedback, so crashing into a wall in a race car feels much different than making a tackle on the football field,” Ryan said.
Another feature will be “adaptive triggers” incorporated into controls “so that you feel the tactile sensation of drawing a bow and arrow or accelerating an off-road vehicle through rocky terrain,” he added.
Sony, which leads the console segment, announced the move as more gamers move away from traditional console machines to streaming games powered by the internet cloud on a variety of devices.
Other entertainment giants have launched game subscriptions which compete with Sony’s PlayStation Now cloud video game service, including Apple’s Apple Arcade and Google’s Stadia.