Skip to main content

PlayStation 5 reveal livestream: Watch Sony detail its next-gen console

Watch Live! Deep Dive Into The Sony PlayStation 5 System Architecture

Sony is finally ready to lift the curtain on the PlayStation 5 this morning.

The livestream begins at 9 a.m PT/12 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 18, on the PlayStation Blog. It will mark the first real look at the system beyond a previous logo reveal during Sony’s Consumer Electronic Show 2020 presentation.

The company announced on social media on Tuesday that Mark Cerny, the PS5’s lead system architect, will “provide a deep dive into PS5’s system architecture and how it will shape the future of games.”

Tomorrow at 9am Pacific Time, PS5 lead system architect Mark Cerny will provide a deep dive into PS5’s system architecture, and how it will shape the future of games.

Watch tomorrow at PlayStation Blog: https://t.co/bgP1rXMeC8 pic.twitter.com/BSYX9tOYhE

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) March 17, 2020

The move comes after Microsoft unveiled the full Xbox Series X specs at the beginning of the week, on March 16. Both systems will use solid-state drives and are based on AMD’s Zen 2 and RDNA 2 architectures, graphics chips that focus on delivering ray tracing and variable rate shading.

Microsoft boasted that the Xbox Series X has 12 teraflops of power and called it “the most powerful” console ever made. Expect Sony to rebuff that statement before both consoles release this holiday season.

Cerny, who also served as the lead system architect on the PlayStation 4, previously spoke about the design philosophy of the PS5. Similar to Microsoft, Sony will focus on lowering load times by using a solid-state drive and making sure games perform at higher resolutions and frame rates than on previous consoles.

“We’re very used to flying logos at the start of the game and graphic-heavy selection screens,” Cerny said in an interview with Wired in 2019. “Even things like multiplayer lobbies and intentionally detailed loadout processes, because you don’t want players just to be waiting.”

While much about the console is currently unknown, the company did detail some changes to its DualShock controllers. Haptic feedback will replace the current version’s rumble technology, which Sony claims will deliver a more expansive range of feedback to players. In effect, doing things like driving a car on the grass or slamming into a wall will feel different in a game like Gran Turismo. The currently unnamed controller will feature adaptive triggers that will allow developers to program the resistance the L2 and R2 buttons offer up players. The controller will also feature an improved speaker from the current DualShock 4.

Editors' Recommendations

Tyler Treese
When not playing or writing about games, Tyler Treese serves as the Senior Editor at Wrestlezone. An experienced writer that…
PlayStation State of Play returns this week, will feature 14 PS5 games
Three colorful PS5s float together in a line.

PlayStation will kick off the summer of digital video game reveal streams this week with a State of Play broadcast. The stream will take place at 3 p.m. PT on Thursday, May 30.

State of Play is one of Sony's primary livestream presentation formats. It tends to be slightly shorter than the company's flagship stream, the PlayStation Showcase. This State of Play is a significant one, though, as Sony's slate of first-party games for 2024 is entirely unknown at this stage. This stream should shed some light on what's coming later this year.

Read more
I would buy a PlayStation Portal 2 if it had this one feature
A Pulse Elite, DualSense, and PlayStation Portal sit on a table.

I've had a bit of a love-hate relationship with the PlayStation Portal since it launched. Initially, I was disappointed by Sony's cloud streaming device. I was impressed with its screen and appreciated its DualSense integration, but its slimmeddown features made it feel like a cheap version of a good idea. I've since learned to find a use case for my PlayStation Portal that turned it into an integral part of my gaming setup. It's very imperfect, but that doesn't mean it's not useful.

Ever since its launch, I've been hoping for a refreshed follow-up, whether that be a Pro model or a true PlayStation Portal 2. It may be way too early to start discussing that considering that the Portal just launched in November 2023, but the promising device has enough glaring flaws that I'd welcome a fast-tracked successor. If Sony were to make a PlayStation Portal 2, though, there's one feature that's nonnegotiable: Bluetooth.

Read more
Grand Theft Auto 5 and 11 more games are leaving PS Plus in June
Trevor, Michael, and Franklin are all holding guns in GTA 5 promotional art.

PlayStation Plus users will be losing out on 12 games in June, and one of them is a must-play if you're a fan of open-world action adventures from 2013.

Grand Theft Auto 5 is widely considered to be one of the most iconic games all time, and it's definitely the best Grand Theft Auto game. It's also easy to play on nearly any platform (minus Nintendo Switch, of course). It even received a next-gen upgrade for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2022. That said, if you have a PlayStation Plus subscription and wanted to play it at some point -- or just wanted to get a session or two in before Grand Theft Auto 6 -- you'll have until June 12 to do so.

Read more