The arrival of a new generation of consoles has become a real event for gamers . It is not only a question of knowing its price or power, but it is the device that will provide hundreds of hours of entertainment during the following years and that will mark the standard level of the titles, as well as the starting point from which future generations will have to keep improving. Therefore, in a post-confinement moment in which video games have once again demonstrated their potential as a means of entertainment and support to tell great stories, PlayStation has unveiled its new generation .
The event
You have to recognize Sony who knows how to communicate and sell . The event consisted of a video broadcast live through various channels in which the trailers and fragments of gameplay followed each other between corporate animations and included statements by some heavyweight from the responsible studios sporadically. It is a simple format, very suitable for current times and that had an agility and fluidity that made it entertaining even if you did not want to pay too much attention to it. In general, the time that was dedicated to each title was short but enough to show off its possibilities or leave fans with enough uncertainty to be interested in them (if not to score a ‘shut up and take my money’).
The console
Let’s start with what was the great final announcement of the event and its reason for being. After a beautiful motion graphics video that showed us the design of the PlayStation 5 from (very) close and we got through it as if we were in an X-Wing between the corridors of the Death Star, Sony let us see the price and the release date of what they promise will be a console that will redefine the world of video games and take the player experience to the next level. PlayStation 5 will be available from November 12, 2020 in the United States and other regions (Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea) and from November 19 in Europe, the Middle East, South America, Asia and South Africa. Its launch price will be € 499 in its standard version and € 399 in the digital edition (without reader). Thus, PlayStation has chosen to match Microsoft in the starting price of its new generation (Xbox series X will also cost € 499) and leaves room for a mini version closer to the S series of its rival (€ 299 with a considerable drop in properties).
We know that PlayStation 5 will feature an Ultra HD Bluray drive, integrated CPU and GPU for graphics up to 4K and an ultra-fast SSD that promises to improve performance and lower load times. In addition, Sony is looking for more depth and immersion in the player experience with the 3D sound system and other surprises related to the new DualShock controller that we will discover. In the words of Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment , PlayStation 5 “will offer a new generation of experiences that go beyond the expectations of gamers about how games look, feel, sound and play.”
The ‘wow’
As we have already mentioned, Sony did a great job in the presentation by hooking those who were watching it with images and chained titles that made everything seem like a great bombshell. But it is logical that there were some titles that stood out.
The event started very strong with an impressive trailer (with gameplay images) of Final Fantasy XVI , a title that seems to want to correct the details that fans of the Final Fantasy XV saga did not like and offered careful finishes both in the brief moments out for a walk as in intense fighting. The title will come to PlayStation 5 and PC . Nor can we forget Hogwharts Legacy , an RPG video game that takes place in the Harry Potter universe and that had been leaked a long time ago but without knowing what to expect or when. It was a very pleasant surprise as the trailer showed the possibilities of a game with exploration and decision making applied to the world of the most famous wizard of the 21st century.
The highlight of the night came with the gameplay of Marvel’s Spiderman: Miles Morales , a continuation of the successful Insomniac game in which we change our beloved Peter Parker for the young Miles Morales, whom we also manage in very specific parts of the story. The exhibition took us through a Harlem flea market, demonstrating that Miles’ personal relationships and history will continue to be as important as Spiderman’s, and then introduces us to the baddies of this second installment (which are reminiscent of Sable and the Demons) and get into a combat scene. At first there didn’t seem to be much new except for Miles’s powers (the use of electric shocks and the ability to turn invisible), but then the game showed its potential with a scene in which the Brooklyn Bridge collapses and Miles must save to the terrified victims. Simply brutal and enough so that many of us have been convinced to buy the game.
Did the event give for more? Of course. We could see a very cool trailer for Resident Evil VIII that already made your hair stand on end and gave the feeling that the good work that has been done with RE VII and the remakes of II and III will also come to this new installment. There was also a not inconsiderable gameplay of Call of Duty: Cold War in which the new possibilities that (presumably) will offer PS5 were made more visible thanks to the first person of the game and the cinematic that always results .
Finally, an interesting bet on the part of Bethesda ( Skyrim) with Deathloop , an FPS with a somewhat seventies cartoon- like aesthetic that mixes murders and infiltration with space-time jumps and a kind of mouse and cat game with a second player whose only objective will be that the protagonist fails. It does not seem that it is the type of game that will mark the new generation of consoles but its presentation made it striking enough to enter the eye.
The ‘meh’
But of course, not everything could convince us at the event. Although it must be said that no title left us a bad feeling but some did not manage to shine as much as others .
The pieces that were most out of tune within the event itself were Fornite’s mini-announcement , which seemed to be more out of obligation than real interest, and Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach , a trailer without gameplay in which you almost had to guess which game. it was all about and that, although it seemed to point to a much-needed facelift, it didn’t show anything really interesting . Neither did the Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition show anything, besides that we will be handling Dante’s twin brother instead of the iconic red-coat demon hunter, which will convince us to want to buy it right now.
And we finished the section of the lows of the night with Outworld Soulstorm and Demon’s Souls . The first one left us with a bittersweet sensation as it was shown as a good continuation of the 2014 game and that it showed the use made of that semi-three-dimensional 2D applied to its mechanics. What has put us back is the comment that the creative director made before watching the video in which he talked about the power of PS5 applied to his game, while the subsequent images did not seem to be especially impressive on a graphical level. With Demon’s Souls , on the other hand, we wanted them to show a little more their potential and leave us with our mouths open and wanting to buy it. Instead, it left us lukewarm.
But our main complaint with this presentation event is that there was hardly any information on dates about video games , generating a feeling of uncertainty with hardly any concrete data.
The icing
Before we knew it we had reached the end of the event. PlayStation announced its PlayStation Plus Collection service with which it will try to compete with Microsoft’s GamePass and which knew how to shine by offering, from the beginning, some of the highest rated games on the PS4 to PS5 players who have the PlayStation Plus service. Among the titles were God of War , Mortal Kombat X , Bloodborne , Monster Hunter: World , Fallout 4, and Batman Arkham Knigt . A pack of titles available to consider .
And that was it. The price and release date of PS5 was announced, Jim Ryan thanked the support and enthusiasm shown and warned that there was still much more to be discovered about his new console and the curtain closed. Well no, there was still one more surprise .
As if they had learned it from Marvel Studios , the PlayStation event ended with a post-credits scene that raised the hype of the players to the clouds by offering us a preview of what will almost certainly be the title that will see Sony sell many consoles at the beginning. of the new generation. Black background, falling snow, a hoarse voice, an omega symbol covered in runes on the screen and a message: ‘Ragnarök is coming’. The next God of War will arrive on PlayStation 5 in 2021 (earlier than expected) promising a brutal showdown between Kratos and his son against the great gods of Asgard, including Thor. Knowing what the end of God of War (2018) hinted at us, will this installment for the new generation be the moment when we will say goodbye to Kratos and see a generational change in history? We can only wait and be prepared for what lies ahead.
