PlayStation 5 Release Date, Price, Pre-order, Specs, Controller, Games, And More [With Photos & Videos!]

Here’s everything you need to know about Sony's PlayStation 5 — including information on the release date, price, pre-order, specs, features, controller, games, and more.

Table of Contents:
Release Date
Price
Pre-order
Specs and Features
Controller
Games
Logo
The Future of Gaming Event
Supply
Box Art

Release Date

The PlayStation 5 released on November 12, 2020, in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. The PS5 will release throughout most of the rest of the world on November 19, 2020. At the time of writing, PlayStation 5's China release date will be announced later.

On November 5th, Sony said that in the interest of keeping everyone safe amidst COVID-19, no units will be sold in stores on launch day. Units will only be sold through the online stores of Sony's retail partners.

If you pre-ordered a PS5 for pickup at your local retailer, you should still be able to do so at your designated appointment time, but you should confirm the details with the retailer.

Price

Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

The PlayStation 5 costs $499.99. The PlayStation 5 Digital Edition costs $399.99.

Here's a list of PS5 accessories that will also launch this November, along with their prices:

• DualSense Wireless Controller (standalone): $69.99
• PULSE 3D wireless headset with 3D audio support and dual noise-canceling microphones: $99.99
• HD Camera with dual 1080p lenses for gamers to broadcast themselves and their gameplay: $59.99
• Media Remote to navigate movies and streaming services: $29.99
• DualSense Charging Station to charge two DualSense Wireless Controllers: $29.99

Pre-order

Registration for pre-ordering a PS5 is closed. The PlayStation 5 released on November 12, 2020, in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.

Specs and Features

Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

PlayStation revealed more details about the PS5 in their deep dive on March 18, 2020, including the official PS5 specs:

Here are the official PlayStation 5 specs vs Xbox Series X specs for comparison:

PlayStation 5 vs Xbox Series X Specs Comparison Chart

Although the specs can be seen as similar to the Xbox Series X, some are arguing that the Xbox has the upper hand over the PS5 as of now.

One of the key hardware components being used for the PS5 is the custom made SSD. During the deep dive, host and Sony designer Mark Cerny shared details about the new SSD. Cerny stated that the SSD will be more like having extra RAM inside the PS5.

He noted the core goals of the SSD and the PS5 are:

• Boot the game in a second
• No load screens
• Design with freedom
• More game on disc and on SSD
• Patch installs go away

On October 7, 2020, Sony posted a teardown of the PS5 where we got a first look at all of PS5's internal components. One aspect that gathered a lot of attention was the big heat sink inside the console, which should deal with any issues over the console overheating.

Watch the PS5 teardown:

User Experience

Sony gave us a sneak peek at the PS5's user experience on October 15, 2020, revealing "new features designed to make your gaming experiences more fun, engaging, personalized and social on the PS5 console." Keeping to the classic Sony layout, it reminds us of the PS4 overlay. But it's beautiful, to say the least.

Watch the first look at the PlayStation 5 user experience: 

Backwards Compatibility

Here's what Sony had to say about backward compatibility:

Lastly, we’re excited to confirm that the backwards compatibility features are working well. We recently took a look at the top 100 PS4 titles as ranked by play time, and we’re expecting almost all of them to be playable at launch on PS5. With more than 4000 games published on PS4, we will continue the testing process and expand backwards compatibility coverage over time.

Commercial

The first PS5 commercial was spotted and posted online by Dexerto on August 20, 2020!

Watch it here:

Controller

According to Sony, the PlayStation 5 controller will ship with PlayStation 5. They also said there are two key innovations with the new PS5 controller:

Innovation 1: Haptic Feedback

Sony is:

… adopting haptic feedback to replace the “rumble” technology found in controllers since the 5th generation of consoles. 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. You can even get a sense for a variety of textures when running through fields of grass or plodding through mud.

Innovation 2: Adaptive Triggers

The PS5 controller will also feature:

… adaptive triggers, which have been incorporated into the trigger buttons (L2/R2). Developers can program the resistance of the triggers so that you feel the tactile sensation of drawing a bow and arrow or accelerating an off-road vehicle through rocky terrain. In combination with the haptics, this can produce a powerful experience that better simulates various actions. Game creators have started to receive early versions of the new controller, and we can’t wait to see where their imagination goes with these new features at their disposal.

What’s more, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) president and CEO Jim Ryan said this about the PlayStation 5 controller in an interview with Business Insider Japan (translated by Gematsu):

3D audio and the haptic feedback support of the controller are also things that, when you try them, you will be surprised at how big a change they are. Even just playing the racing game Gran Turismo Sport with a PlayStation 5 controller is a completely different experience. While it runs well with the previous controller, there is no going back after you experience the detailed road surface via haptic control and play using the adaptive triggers.

And what will the PS5 controller look like?

Sony unveiled the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller design on April 7, 2020:

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Many gamers were taken off guard by the looks of the controller (have you seen G FUEL's PS5 controller fan art?!), as it's the first controller in quite some time to not be the color black. The design of the PS5 controller resembles certain Xbox controllers and even notes from the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller.

One of the most important features about the new PlayStation 5 controller is its onboard microphone. Although Sony encourages you to pick up a headset for long gaming sessions, this is a great sign to see.

For those of you who remember the launch of the PS4 controller, it was one of the most innovative controller launches of all time. The touch-sensitive pad centered at the middle of the controller was one of the biggest changes, and the new DualSense PS5 controller still has this feature.

Below are some key points from Sony's official blog post "Introducing DualSense, the New Wireless Game Controller for PlayStation 5":

After thoughtful consideration, we decided to keep much of what gamers love about DualShock 4 intact, while also adding new functionality and refining the design. Based on our discussions with developers, we concluded that the sense of touch within gameplay, much like audio, hasn’t been a big focus for many games. We had a great opportunity with PS5 to innovate by offering game creators the ability to explore how they can heighten that feeling of immersion through our new controller. This is why we adopted haptic feedback, which adds a variety of powerful sensations you’ll feel when you play, such as the slow grittiness of driving a car through mud. We also incorporated adaptive triggers into the L2 and R2 buttons of DualSense so you can truly feel the tension of your actions, like when drawing a bow to shoot an arrow.

For the buttons, you’ll notice there is no longer a “Share” button as we had with DualShock 4. Don’t worry – it’s not going away. In fact, we’ve built upon the success of our industry-first Share button to bring you a new “Create” button feature. With Create, we’re once again pioneering new ways for players to create epic gameplay content to share with the world, or just to enjoy for themselves. We’ll have more details on this feature as we get closer to launch.

DualSense also adds a built-in microphone array, which will enable players to easily chat with friends without a headset – ideal for jumping into a quick conversation. But of course, if you are planning to chat for a longer period, it’s good to have that headset handy.

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Of course, Sony did not forget to talk about the PS5 controller's new colors.

Now, let’s talk about the colors. Traditionally our base controllers have a single color. As you can see, we went a different direction this time around, and decided on a two-toned design. Additionally, we changed the position of the light bar that will give it an extra pop. On DualShock 4, it sat on the top of the controller; now it sits at each side of the touch pad, giving it a slightly larger look and feel.

Wondering what it's like to play with the new controller?

Well, look no further because Summer Game Fest host, Geoff Keighley, got his hands on the brand new PS5 DualSense controller and shared his thoughts on July 17th:

Controller Specs

Here are the official PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller Specs:

Games

Here are all the confirmed PS5 games and rumored PS5 games:

Confirmed PS5 Games and Release Dates

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Rumored PS5 games:

• Bloodborne
• Death Stranding
• Final Fantasy 7 Remake
• Ghost of Tsushima
• Grand Theft Auto 6
• Starfield
• The Elder Scrolls 6
• The Last of Us: Part 2

Read more:

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Logo

Twitter/@geoffkeighley

Sony finally revealed the PS5 logo at CES 2020. It’s exactly what we were all expecting. The logo is like the rest of the PlayStation logos.

The Future of Gaming Event

Sony hosted a PS5 reveal event called "The Future of Gaming" on June 11th at 4 PM ET / 1 PM PT. They announced and showed a bunch of upcoming PS5 games that we can play after PlayStation 5 launches this holiday, including Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Gran Turismo 7, NBA 2K21, Resident Evil: Village, and a whole lot more. We've updated our confirmed PS5 games list above to include all of them.

Now let's dive into some of the games announced:

Horizon Forbidden West

The direct sequel to one of the best selling games of the PS4’s lifespan is coming to the PS5! This was one of the most rumored games to be announced during this event, so fans are beyond thrilled to once again shoot robotic dinosaurs.

Deathloop

Demon Souls

This game was announced last year during Bethesda's E3 2019, but we hadn't heard much about it until now. This seems to be a mashup of Dishonored but with lots of guns.

NBA2K21

It's no surprise that the next NBA 2K game is going to be making its way over to the PS5. We'll have to wait and see how realistic they can make the game this year.

Hitman 3

This is going to be the final episode of the Hitman: World of Assassination trilogy. The legendary third-person stealth assassination title is going to look amazing on the PS5.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure

This game is a spin-off title from the Little Big Planet series. It takes the lovable Sackboy and spins him into a third-person platformer similar to Mario.

Returnal

Returnal was one of the stranger games announced during the Future of Gaming event. However, there seems to be a unique feature where the hostile planet changes with every death.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart

A brand new Ratchet and Clank game is finally coming to PlayStation. It's going to be interesting where we adventure to this time around.

Resident Evil 8: Village

Come on, who else knew there would be another Resident Evil iteration? The latest title, Resident Evil: Village, is a lot of fun. It encompasses everything the RE series is known for and evolves in a fresh and exciting way.

Even better, check out our Resident Evil Village Review for PC! RE fans are going to be playing the game non-stop now that it released on May 7, 2021.

Read more: 18 Best Resident Evil Games Ranked

Gran Turismo 7

An iteration of the legendary PlayStation racing title is coming to PS5. We'll let the announcement trailer speak for itself.

GTA 5 and GTA 5 Online

Looks like Rockstar Games is not done releasing GTA 5 ... which launched in 2013. Where is Grand Theft Auto 6?!

Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Spider-Man: Miles Morales was perhaps the most talked about game announced during The Future of Gaming event. Although we won't be taking part in the daily life of Peter Parker, Miles is going to be a fantastic companion for us to follow around. This is without a doubt one of the most anticipated games of the year, so expectations are riding high on Sony.

Some of the other games announced during the event were:

• Astro's Playroom
• Bugsnax (Holiday 2020)
• Destruction Allstars
• Ghostwire: Tokyo (2021)
• Goodbye Volcano High (2021)
• Jett: The Far Shore (Holiday 2020)
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits
• Little Devil Inside
• Pragmata (2022)
• Project Athia
• Solar Ash (2021)
• Stray (2021)

But that's not all.

Sony finally revealed what the PS5, PS5 Digital Edition, DualSense Charging Station, HD Camera, Pulse 3D Wireless Headset, and Media Remote will look like:

Supply

A lot of people have had concerns regarding the supply of the PS5. Even with robots, if the demand is too high, they may run out.

Not to fear, however, as according to HYPEBEAST, this does not seem to be a concern of Sony's. Below is a blurb of what they had to say regarding the production flow of the PS5 for later this year.

According to an article in the Nikkei Asian Review, Sony factories are now capable of building a completed PlayStation 4 every 30 seconds. The robots are able to perform advanced movements and maneuvers, such as twisting flat cables and applying a moderated amount of pressure to attach it to its connection without breaking anything. About 80% of the robots are dedicated to these, and other, complex tasks that seem mundane for any trained human technician.

The manufacturing line is so reliant on robotics it seems, that throughout the entire construction there are only four human staff members employed for their construction — two workers feed bare motherboards at the very beginning, and two workers finalize the packaging of the consoles near the end.

So it appears we're in safe hands for this holiday season, meaning everyone is likely to snag the console of their choice.

Box Art

On July 9th, Sony gave us a sneak peak at the box art of upcoming PS5 games, starting with Spider-Man: Miles Morales. The obvious change is the white bar at the top of the box, which matches the white design of the PS5.

Sony Interactive Entertainment

What are your thoughts on the PS5? Are you going to pre-order it?

Let us know in the comments section below!

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Top image via Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

This article was written by Nick Farrell, an experienced journalist who aims to provide insightful and proactive articles daily.