What’s Next For PlayStation 5
Sony has announced the PlayStation 5, shown some of the games, and detailed the new controller. There is a lot of speculation as to what will be shown next. We have rumors of an August State of Play. We have a confirmed but missing hardware teardown. Then we have what most people are eager to hear: pricing and date. We wanted to take a look at what we expect Sony to do over the next three to four months leading up to launch. Then explain why we feel like this is the likely approach they will take.
The Rumored August State of Play
Jeff Grubb from VentureBeat has been on quite the hot streak this summer. His twitter account has become a go-to place for all things related to E3 replacement events. He even correctly predicted the PS5 event a month prior. All summer long he has mentioned a potential upcoming State of Play for August. I too feel very confident this is the case. However, I think the community could be setting expectations too high.
This is not going to be a PlayStation 5 pricing event. I am not even sure this is going to be a PlayStation 5 event. I think Sony is going to use this State of Play to showcase PS4, PSVR, and maybe some PS5 games. Sony did not want to showcase any PS4 games during their PS5 June event. This is going to be a way for them to work with their partners and engage the existing base, separate from PS5. I expect things like Predator: Hunting Grounds updates. In addition to Avengers getting Spider-Man, Star Wars: Squadrons PSVR support, The Last of Us 2 multiplayer, some indie games, and a holiday VR game.
We could see some PS5 updates. For example, Resident Evil 8 PSVR support, GT7 PSVR Support, The Last of Us 2 coming to PS5, or how Hitman 3 will play previous Hitman titles come January. I don’t expect this to be a significant PS5 related State of Play. If people set their expectations too high, it could create some discourse. Either way, I feel very confident news of a State of Play is coming soon with updates to PS4, PS5 and PSVR titles.
Console Teardown
During the Road to the PS5 video, Mark Cerny mentioned a hardware teardown was coming. I am not sure if this would be a Digital Foundry type of approach like Xbox took or would this be something like a blog post. One thing is for sure, at some point over the next three months Sony is going to showcase the hardware inside and out. We haven’t seen the back of the console or the SSD expansion bay. One approach they could take is to have a full unboxing from top to bottom in September with an overview of the peripherals as part of the price announcement. There could be a “this is what comes in the box when you buy it on X date” approach. We will have to wait and see if they have a dedicated event for this or if it’s tied into the price and date announcement.
Solidifying The Launch Games, Price, and Date
A reason they could separate the hardware teardown or a “what’s in the box” type of video is they need to show the games again. We don’t have Spider-Man: Miles Morales gameplay. Also, we also don’t have a slate of defined launch games. I think it’s too much to have them both at the same event. It also doesn’t sound like something this new Sony marketing team would do. Seeing as how we had an event for the logo and two marketing activations for the controller. That makes me think when Sony is ready to date the console they will show the games that will be available on shelves day one.
We are excited for what Sony has next for PlayStation. Follow us on all of our social media channels for up to the hour updates on the next-gen console launch. As well as Circle Cross Square, our monthly editorial on all things PlayStation 5.
