Sony reveals two PlayStation 5 consoles

 
Yesterday during a livestream event, Sony officially unveiled the PlayStation 5. They gave fans a look at the console for the first time since it had been announced, and surprised everyone with a digital-only version as well.

The show was a pre-recorded video that went live at the same time around the world. This was how it had to be because of the limitations in place around the world as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Still, the event was a success, and saw hundreds of thousands of people tune in to see the console shown for the first time, as well as the first wave of PlayStation 5 games that will be available to purchase.

In amongst the reveals, Sony had a segment that focussed on the PlayStation 5 console itself. The segment looked at all aspects of the console’s design, which is one of the most striking in PlayStation history. It’s likely that a lot of effort has gone into the console’s visual aesthetic because it will be more of a media centre than just a games console. It even comes with a media remote control to use instead of the new DualSense controller.

The biggest surprise of the event was the reveal of two versions of the PlayStation 5. The first is the console that everyone expected to see. It has a quirky design, unlike the Xbox Series X’s block-like build, but at a basic level it is just another games console that takes discs.

The second PlayStation 5 has no optical drive, and is a digital-only console. This is similar to the Xbox One All-Digital Edition, in that all games must be purchased on the PlayStation Store and downloaded in full.

Physical media is still something that consumers enjoy purchasing. It’s also great for many gamers because they can trade in the games they no longer play for money to purchase new ones. A digital-only console doesn’t allow for pre-owned versions of games to exist, but it does do away with a lot of the waste caused by game cases and other packaging.

It seems nobody stayed indifferent to the new PlayStation 5 consoles, some loved its look and some disliked it, and everybody can’t wait to see it actually release.