One of my favorite parts about writing about the video game industry is trying to predict what we could see at an upcoming event. There is no event, quite as shrouded in mystery as the upcoming PlayStation 5 event tomorrow. We know that the event will run for an estimated 40 minutes and feature updates on games from PlayStation’s Worldwide Studios. But what games could we see? What games are going to make it for the launch of the PlayStation 5? Then of course the biggest and most looming question. What could the final price point of the PlayStation 5 be? Well, let’s speculate a little bit about what we could possibly see at tomorrow’s PlayStation 5 event.
PlayStation 5 Pricing and Console Details
While this most likely won’t kick off the show. There is no doubt that a portion of the show will be dedicated to answering some of the most looming questions about PlayStation 5. We should get a final price announcement, for both the standard and disc-less PlayStation 5 SKUs. What will those prices be? I am pretty sure there has been enough discourse about this talking point this week on social media that I really don’t need to touch on it. Along with pricing, we will also learn about how PlayStation plans to roll out the console to the masses. I don’t think there is a world where they don’t announce the console’s pre-order date at the end of the show.
Some other things that I would hope to see at this event, are more about quality of life improvements and system details. I don’t mean another spec sheet or details on how tall the PlayStation 5 is. I am more interested in what the official UI of the new system will look like. Are there any big changes coming to the PlayStation store to kick off the new generation? A personal interest for me is whether PlayStation shows off their backward compatibility program. While the messaging has been a little rocky in regards to BC support on PlayStation 5, I absolutely love to see how The Last of Us Part II and Ghosts of Tsushima will run on PlayStation 5.
What Will The PS5 Launch Lineup be?
While COVID-19 has brought havoc to many developers release schedules, the wheels somehow keep turning. As PlayStation 5 will reportedly release in November, we will likely see a ton of games that will represent both the day one launch line up and what many people refer to as the launch window of the PlayStation 5. Games such as Spider-Man: Miles Morales is already slated to release alongside the PlayStation 5. We will no doubt get gameplay from Insomniac Games during the show. Not only for Spider-Man, but perhaps we might get a more concrete release date for Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.
Other games remain up in the air that we could definitely see more of, which could also make launch window/day. Will Demon Souls Remake from Bluepoint Games make an appearance during the event? We have not gotten a lot of information on the game despite rumors that the game has been in production for a number of years. Gran Turismo 7 which marks the big return of the racing sim king, which after a brief stumble with Gran Turismo: Sport. It appears the franchise will be incredible when it releases on PlayStation 5. There should be no shortage of games during the event. We’ve previously seen a host of smaller titles such as Bugsnax, Astro’s Playroom, and more. Perhaps we could expect more titles during tomorrow’s event.
Wild Card Teasers and Announcements?
Now, we know PlayStation is no stranger to teasing and playing the long game in terms of announcing their games. During the PlayStation 4 generation, we saw games revealed perhaps a little too early for the hardcore audience. But this did a great job of creating a hype cycle for the PlayStation 4, I have no doubt they will continue this trend. Could we possibly see more Horizon: Forbidden West? Maybe, but what about that long-rumored second project from Guerilla Games? A rumored first-person shooter, it could mean the return of Killzone. Or even perhaps SOCOM, which has been a long-rumored franchise that PlayStation has been looking to bring back. What about Bloodborne for PlayStation 5? Many fans have taken to social media to campaign for Bloodborne 2. It seems like every month we hear about a Bloodborne. However, I would say just don’t expect Bloodborne 2 anytime soon.
Other games that we could see at the event are games like Returnal, the new AAA game from Housemarque. While we first saw this game back at Sony’s last PS5 event, it may be a little soon to hope for a new look at the game. But as a massive fan of Housemarque’s work, I can remain hopeful. The third-party presence will no doubt be strong at the event. From games like Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War, which we will no doubt get a deeper look at during the show. Resident Evil 8: Village was reportedly supposed to be showcased during August. It seems likely we will get an in-depth look at the next installment in the Resident Evil franchise.
Bombshells and Mic Drop Moments?
PlayStation has always been good at capturing fan hype and blowing it up in a massive way. The unveiling of God of War making its return at E3 2016, was a perfect example of this. To say that fans of God of War are itching for another announcement like this is an absolute understatement. Every time Sony Santa Monica’s own Cory Barlog so much as breathes on Twitter, fans begin in sync asking “God of War 2 announcement?”. This plus 15 articles that speculate whether him changing his Twitter banner means something for the next God of War game, tells me one simple thing. If PlayStation absolutely wanted to bring the house down, even if the game is a few years away, God of War 2 CGI trailer would do just that. It would absolutely whip fans into a frenzy about the future of PlayStation 5.
Another rumor is that Final Fantasy XVI will be revealed during the show as a PS5 timed exclusive. This seems likely, as it is worth noting that Final Fantasy VII Remake has enjoyed immense success and driven up hype for the series once again. An unveiling of Final Fantasy XVI could be a big moment for PlayStation 5, depending on how the trailer is received. I also have to wonder if there will be a massive overhaul coming to PlayStation Now. While the service has been growing and improving over the past few years. It still feels behind in comparison to Xbox Game Pass. It is not only behind in consumer’s minds but also in terms of subscribers. I have to imagine PlayStation won’t leave that money sitting on the table for too much longer before some big changes come to the service.
An Exciting Time For Video Games
The online discourse surrounding video games often removes the key thing that makes video games so great. That is the aspect of fun and joy that video games bring to our lives. After what felt like eons of Xbox and PlayStation playing a next-generation game of chicken. After this PlayStation 5 event, we will hopefully know all we need to about the next generation of consoles. Then a discussion can then shift from speculation to talks about hardware, prices, and services. We can look forward to the awesome games that we will be able to play in the next generation of consoles. Both PlayStation and Xbox are looking to knock it out of the park, and there’s no better time to be a video game enthusiast. Tomorrow can’t come any sooner.
