Sony unveils PlayStation 5 design, but remains silent on price

Sony’s PlayStation 5 game showcase revealed the look of the next generation console and, as with its accompanying DualSense controller, the system makes quite the first impression.

While competing console-maker Microsoft went for a nondescript boxy look for its own next-gen entry, the PlayStation 5 opts for a distinctive silhouette that carries the same black and white motif debuted with the DualSense controller last month.

In the case of that earlier debut, SIE president and CEO Jim Ryan said that a striking visual shift from previous PlayStation products aimed to “[capture] just how strongly we feel about making a generational leap with PS5” and it seems that same philosophy applies to the PlayStation 5 itself. 

The debut introduced two different versions of that launch console, one that features an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive and one that scraps a disc drive entirely to instead offer its players the option to go all digital when entering the next console generation.

The short hardware preview also revealed a small hoard of new PlayStation 5 accessories, including the Pulse 3D wireless headset (with support for the 3D audio feature PlayStation previously discussed at length), a HD Camera with dual 1080p lenses, dedicated media remote, and charging station for the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controllers. 

The rest of today’s live stream ran through some of the games from both PlayStation Studios and external developers that’ll arrive on the PlayStation 5 within the early days of its lifetime, including peeks at Guerilla Games’ Horizon: Forbidden West, Insomniac Games’ Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and IO Interactive’s Hitman 3. 

One notable absence from today’s live stream was a price. While rumors have popped up online from time to time, neither Xbox nor PlayStation have yet to officially announce a pricepoint for their next generation hardware despite both consoles being expected to launch in Holiday 2020.

In a followup press release, Sony says that info on both pricing and additional PS5 details will be announced “at a later date.”