Once again, Sony has given Wired exclusive information concerning the company’s next-generation console. This time, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan was able to confirm what everyone has long expected. The new console is indeed called the PlayStation 5. Additionally, Ryan felt comfortable confirming the rumored launch window of holiday 2020. During the interview with Wired, Ryan and system architect Mark Cerny let loose a few other interesting details about the forthcoming hardware. For one, Cerny clarified his past statements on ray-tracing technology, while also teasing what players can expect from PlayStation 5’s User Interface.
For starters, Cerny addressed the confusion surrounding his ray-tracing statements earlier in the year. The rendering technique, which most notably allows for enhanced lighting effects, was hinted at for the PS5 in a nebulous fashion. Consequently, many tech savvy readers were left concerned as to how exactly Sony plans on developing such technology for a console. Apparently, it’s not a “software-level fix.” In recently speaking with Wired, Cerny elaborated further: “There is ray-tracing acceleration in the GPU hardware, which I believe is the statement that people were looking for.”
A bit later in the interview, Cerny offered details about the new console’s UI. For years, PS4 owners have been divided about its UI’s functionality. It’s clunky in places, prettier than the PS3’s XMB, but still rather visually unappealing. How might the revamped PS4 UI change things? Information concerning the User Interface’s overall look and design remain under wraps. However, Cerny did explain the new UI will enable players to keep up with what they’re friends are doing in-game in real-time. Interestingly, this level of tracking via the UI will also apply to single-player titles. And, yes, things will move along at a much faster pace.
Cerny told Wired,
Even though it will be fairly fast to boot games, we don’t want the player to have to boot the game, see what’s up, boot the game, see what’s up. Multiplayer game servers will provide the console with the set of joinable activities in real time. Single-player games will provide information like what missions you could do and what rewards you might receive for completing them—and all of those choices will be visible in the UI. As a player you just jump right into whatever you like.
For now, Sony isn’t yet ready to show anything tangible. Moreover, it remains a mystery as to when exactly the time for unveiling the hardware and the look of the still unnamed next DualShock will come. At the very least, the piecemeal roll out of PlayStation 5 information is keeping some sated for the time being.
[Source: Wired]
