PlayStation 5 Confirmed for Late 2020 Launch Featuring Haptics and an SSD

2019 has been a big year for virtual reality (VR) hardware, with the launch of Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift S, HTC Vive Cosmos, HP Reverb and Valve Index, giving customers plenty of choices. Next it’s the turn of consoles by Microsoft and Sont Interactive Entertainment (SIE), the latter of which has recently confirmed PlayStation 5 as the official name (as if it was going to be anything else) and new controller features.

First reported by Wired with a follow up by Jim Ryan, President and CEO, SIE, on PlayStation Blog, PlayStation 5 will arrive next year ‘Holiday 2020’, and it’ll feature an SSD (solid-state drive) for the first time – rather than a hard drive – to speed up load times. There was no mention of how big the SSD will actually be, but a physical videogame will come on  100GB optical disks which will then need to be installed on the drive. One interesting note about that process is that Sony will allow for a configurable installation, so players can choose just the single-player campaign or the multiplayer for example.

A big part of the announcement focused on the new controllers, updating the current DualShock 4 device with haptics and adaptive triggers. The new controller doesn’t have a name – probably DualShock 5 – but these two new innovations aim to help players connect with what they’re playing in new ways.

DualShock 4 featured haptics in the form of basic rumble technology, however, this new approach claims to turn that up a notch. The haptic feedback will be able to simulate surfaces and textures, from running across a grass field to wading through mud.

The adaptive triggers (L2/R2) will be able to offer varying levels of resistance: “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,” says Ryan.

Which could all bode well for increased immersive gameplay on PlayStation VR. PlayStation lead system architect Mark Cerny has previously confirmed that the VR headset won’t be left behind and that PlayStation 5 will support PlayStation VR.

It would be nice to see some PlayStation VR updates in the near future but that probably won’t happen until after the new console has arrived. For further updates, keep reading VRFocus.