Today during Sony’s “The Future of Gaming” show where the company and its partners revealed a slew of next-generation game titles, we also had a first glimpse of the physical design of the new PlayStation 5.

The new console is a significant departure for Sony’s console hardware which has retained a standard black design aesthetic ever since the PlayStation 2 (Although different colour scheme variants have been available). The new PlayStation 5 immediately stands out with its white-black design, as well for the fact that Sony is seemingly presenting the new console in a primarily vertical standing position.

The looks of the console are defined by an enveloping white rounded body that envelops a central glossy black middle section like some sort of cape. The black middle section at the top emits a blue light, illuminating the white side panels as well as the ventilation grills.

Today’s teaser showcased the first time what the console’s cooling hardware might look like. The new design looks to have ventilation grills throughout the whole top of the console as well as the top half of the front of the device, curving along the top corner of the design, with the grills present on both lateral sides. We don’t know if this is an exhaust or intake, or maybe even both, as we haven’t yet seen the back side of the new unit.

Sony’s presentation only showed the console in an upright position, so the design was possibly designed to be used like this in its most optimal fashion.

Another hint that the console might not be designed to be used in a horizontal position is the odd “hump” that appears where the BluRay disc drive is located. It’s a pretty unusual asymmetric design choice that inarguably will spark a lot of discussions.

Edit: Sony also showcasd the console in a horizontal position for a split second in the outro section of the show. It looks like the console is sitting on the "foot" that's depicted in the vertical position shots. This explains why the two feet look different in the previous picture - they both serve as the stands for the console in vertical and horizontal positions, with the odd shape of the foot designed to cup the round side of the console in the horizontal position, with the Digital Edition console having a different curve to it.

Sony is also announcing a Digital Edition of the PlayStation 5 which doesn’t feature a disc drive, getting rid of the hump in the design. Digital distribution has gained a ton of popularity of the last few years and Sony now releasing a digital only console certainly points out that the company envisions this trend to continue and grow.

Both console variants feature a minimalistic front – we only find a single USB-A port and a single USB-C port, alongside a power button, and for the regular version the disc eject button.

Alongside the two new PS5 variants, Sony also announced several new accessories for the console: The new DualSense controller which we’ve known for some time now, a new DualSense charging station which charges up to two controllers at a time, a stereoscopic HD camera, a media remote, and a new headset dubbed the PULSE 3D Wireless Headset.

3D audio is meant to be a big part of the new PlayStation 5 experience thanks to the console’s new audio hardware capabilities – so Sony releasing a first-party headset tied in with the console release isn’t too big of a surprise.

The Sony PlayStation 5 is scheduled to be launched this holiday season at a yet undisclosed price. It is powered by a custom AMD SoC employing 8 Zen 2 cores up to 3.5GHz, a new customised RDNA 2-based GPU with 36 CUs and up to 2.23GHz frequency, and a new ultra-fast SSD and storage architecture that is said to be multiple times faster than the best PC storage devices on the market.

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  • Valantar - Friday, June 12, 2020 - link

    I believe what you are asking for is called the Xbox Series X.
  • Exodite - Friday, June 12, 2020 - link

    Unfortunately, no.

    We're already invested in the PlayStation ecosystem and the PS5's backwards compatibility with the PS4 is a not insignificant advantage.
  • nucc1 - Friday, June 12, 2020 - link

    I don't miss a media remote for the PS4 because it has a pretty good HDMI CEC implementation. This means that my TV remote works pretty well for playback controls.
  • Exodite - Friday, June 12, 2020 - link

    Unfortunately my experience differs from that, despite having a Sony TV no less! :P

    HDMI CEC works, technically, but the navigation on the TV remote isn't working as expected - as it works on the TV - leading to a lot of confusion.

    To be fair that's less the remote and more the PS4 I expect. The fact that different apps, say the media player, BD player and Netflix app for example, all use different navigation controls is a clusterf*ck.

    Enabling the functionality also leads to the PS4 randomly waking up and taking focus from the TV if you press the wrong button on the remote, which is another annoyance to deal with.

    I'm glad HDMI CEC exists as it's better than nothing. But the technology is more frustrating to use than anything.

    YMMV.
  • nucc1 - Saturday, June 13, 2020 - link

    I may be shielded from the rough edges by the fact that my ps4 is connected to an AVR rather than directly to the TV. I also almost exclusively use only the directional buttons for browsing, and the select button to confirm choices. The back button works as youd expect too, along with Play/pause and seeking.

    I have a sony tv too and it appears to be relatively painless. The only inconvenience is the lack of a "Home" or PS button. When I need that a few hours into the viewing session, I reach for the controller.
  • Exodite - Sunday, June 14, 2020 - link

    That's good to know!

    It's been a while since I used the TV remote for the PS4 but IIRC the major issue was that the media buttons don't work. Navigating with the directional buttons and the select button is fine, it's when you get into any kind of media it breaks down.

    I haven't actually used any media remote with the PS4, as I mentioned they've been impossible to get, so I may well be enjoying rather unrealistically high expectations of it. :P
  • tamalero - Friday, June 12, 2020 - link

    Is it weird that the first xboxes had a white and stylish design and now they have a boring black box.
    And when Sony had only boring black boxes, they went for stylish white?
  • Valantar - Friday, June 12, 2020 - link

    What? https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thu...

    You must be thinking of the 360. Also, "stylish"? This thing? It is tacky AF.
  • Spunjji - Friday, June 12, 2020 - link

    Personally, I prefer the boring black box. Unless something's gone very wrong in the design process, it should easily have better cooling characteristics due to having larger fans and a more staightforward airflow path.
  • StevoLincolnite - Friday, June 12, 2020 - link

    That's where my DSL modem go to.

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