New PS5 Details REVEALED - Still Coming 2020

Mark Cerny gave his presentation on the PS5 today, and revealed a whole bunch of new details about Sony's next flagship console. While it wasn't quite the blowout fans were expecting (it's important to note this was supposed to be delivered at developers at GDC rather than consumers), it still gave us the most detailed look at the machine yet.

In a lot of ways, Cerny reiterated things previously stated in his interview with Wired, but with far more elaboration. For instance, the emphasis was again on the SSD and how that will improve what developers can accomplish.

The PS5's architect confirmed that games on next-gen will eliminate load times, as fast travel and reloading after death will be accomplished in "blink-and-you-miss-them" transitions. He even joked that they might have to artificially extend these loads, so that gamers aren't surprised by how fast they're back in the action. Along with this the lengthy patch instal times currently plaguing the PS4 will be eliminated.

More than changing loading though, the biggest gain from the SSD is lifting the limitations game designers are currently under. Cerny mentioned that level design has been marred by the same issues for over twenty years now, with maps being designed with winding corridors and bottlenecks as a matter of necessity to hide loading and mask computational shortcomings. That will no longer be the case, and devs can go wild with how their levels are structured.

The next big change comes with audio. Cerny wants the console itself to match the experience players already get with headphones, PSVR or a sound bar. In order to accomplish this, the PS5 is going to have a bunch of sound features built into the console itself, dubbed the "Tempest Engine". Cerny's goal is "3D sound for all" which will be a huge boost for competitive games and horror titles via "virtual surround sound".

Overall it was certainly a strange presentation, and the lack of a proper look at the console is sure to annoy a lot of fans, but at least we're a little more in the know as to how the system will run its games.