PS5 India Restock: Slated Date, Everything You Need To Know

PS5. Photo: digitalgamersdream

The Sony PlayStation 5 is here at last – seven years after its predecessor appeared and proceeded to utterly dominate its competition. But this time, the PS5 has an uphill battle to convince everyone that it’s a necessary purchase.

The PS5, also known as the PlayStation 5, has finally been confirmed by Sony and will be arriving close to Christmas 2020.

It isn’t a gateway to gaming in a new revolution in the way that previous console generations were, and you don’t even need to buy one to play the latest games – there are almost no titles in its entire catalog that can’t also be played on PS4.

What is the Sony PS5?

The PS5 is the next-gen gaming console from Sony. The system is formally called the Sony PlayStation 5, or PS5 for short. Every prior iteration has adopted that naming scheme, so the name shouldn’t come as a surprise.

The Sony PlayStation 5 is a massive jump forward from its predecessor, however, offering more powerful specs and a space-age design. Its main competitors are the Xbox Series X and Series S and to a lesser extent the Nintendo Switch. The latter home-handheld-hybrid console was released in 2017. While it is a great system in its own right, however, it isn’t necessarily a direct competitor due to its unique form factor and significantly reduced specs.

There are two PS5 models: the regular PlayStation 5 and the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition. The two share identical specs, though as the name suggests, the Digital Edition will only play digitally downloaded games. It does not have a disc drive.

Like previous consoles, the PS5 can also serve as a media center. It supports many streaming apps, which are readily available as buttons on the PS5 Media Remote, Androidauthority noted.

Slated Restock Date

According to a report by IGN India, multiple customers started to reach out retailers like Croma to get an exact date of the PS5 to restock.

Independently verified by IGN India, the PS5 is expected to be available sometime in March 2021. As of now, an exact date has not been detailed but we’ve reached out to Sony for further clarification.

It is worthy to point out, Sony India hinted at fresh PS5 stock when the console sold out on various platforms. “PS5 has been met with unprecedented enthusiasm by PlayStation fans in India, resulting in a stockout during the pre-order period. Please stay in touch with retailers for the next pre-order phase” Sony India said last month.

Sony India is yet to make the PS5 Digital Edition on sale in the country and it could be a possibility that the digital variant might be available for purchase next month.

As of now, there is no news when the digital version of the PS5 will be available to purchase in India due to low expected demand.

India still prefers using physical disks for consoles due to a healthy used games ecosystem and could be the reason behind the console’s delay.

IGN India also reports that some Sony Centers have started to accept cash deposits in advance for the restock that is expected to land in March. The PlayStation 5 is in strong demand in India which has led to many scalpers trying to sell the console at a premium on classified websites like OLX.

It is worthy to point out that the PlayStation community in India have revolted against scalpers and successfully reported ads that were selling the PlayStation 5 above the maximum retail price.

Price

The PS5 is out now, priced at £450 ($500, AU$750), the same price Microsoft is charging for its Xbox Series X.

There is a more affordable PS5 Digital Edition (£360, $400, AU$600) which, according to Sony, is identical to the standard PS5 in terms of performance and specs but lacks an optical disc drive. Microsoft’s disc-less next-gen console, the Xbox Series S (£249, $300, AU$500), costs significantly less than the PS5 Digital Edition, but is also downgraded in a number of ways so (by design) isn’t in the same league.

Build

Photo: vg247

The PS5 is absolutely huge. So huge, it makes the Xbox Series X – a very large console in its own right – look decidedly compact. Standing vertically, Sony’s console is 9cm taller and 11cm deeper than its Microsoft rival and is big enough to cause issues for those with limited space in their equipment racks, particularly as you have to allow space for it to stay cool.

Like the Xbox Series X, the PS5 uses a single, unusually large fan (by console standards) to keep itself cool, which it does very quietly indeed. Unlike the Xbox Series X, it’s not completely inaudible in a silent room, but the consistent whirr is quiet enough to be drowned out by any sound coming from your TV or sound system.

With both consoles, the disc drive is noisier than the fan, particularly when playing a 4K Blu-ray. Here, though, we peg the PS5 at about 5dB quieter than the Xbox. That’s enough to make a difference and, while neither will intrude on your movie soundtrack, you are more likely to notice the Xbox in the quieter moments. It isn’t an issue with games, as even those bought on disc run primarily from the consoles’ built-in storage.

In terms of the PS5’s looks, we’ll leave you to make up your own mind. For every person who likes the way it’s styled, there seems to be at least one more who hates it. Perhaps this Marmite-like reaction is precisely what Sony was going for.

You can at least position it vertically rather than horizontally if that better suits your furniture and/or tastes, but swapping orientation involves unscrewing and repositioning the included pedestal stand: the console’s curves mean it won’t simply lie flat.

The PS5’s controller is the first real indication that Sony has opted to go beyond sheer processing power and aimed for a more holistic upgrade encompassing the way games feel and sound.

The new DualSense is a massive step up from its DualShock predecessor and is packed with technology that helps immerse you in the games you play in new and inventive ways.

It’s all down to a series of motors that provide haptic feedback as well as resistance in the triggers. Pull down the left trigger to aim down the sites of a gun in Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and the resistance under your finger varies, depending on the weight of the weapon. Pull the right trigger and the first bit of movement is light before you get to a sort of bite point that you need to click through to fire the gun.

Switch to Astro’s Playroom and you can feel raindrops as they land on his umbrella. It sounds gimmicky, but it’s a testament to the quality of the engineering and the way it’s seamlessly integrated with the visuals and sound that the opposite is true.

The DualSense is bigger than the PS4’s DualShock 4 and quite weighty, too. The general shape and button layout are the same, though, and if you’re comfortable gaming on a PS4, you should have no problem here.

One other addition that’s fairly easy to miss (and even dismiss) is the DualSense’s integrated microphone, which has its own mute button above. This allows you to plug any pair of standard wired headphones into the bottom of the controller while still being able to communicate with friends in online games.

That's a particularly big deal because any standard headphones plugged into the DualSense can take advantage of the console’s bespoke 3D audio technology. The controller’s integrated microphone makes voices sound tinny, but clarity is decent as long as there isn’t much background noise. All told, this is an excellent solution that allows everyone to experience 3D audio, reported Whathifi.

PS5 specs: ray-tracing, GPU, CPU, and other confirmed details so far

Here's the full list of PS5 specs courtesy of Digital Foundry:

• CPU: 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz (variable frequency)
• GPU: 10.28TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz (variable frequency)
• GPU Architecture: Custom RDNA 2
• Memory/Interface: 16GB GDDR6 / 256=bit
• Memory Bandwidth: 448GB/s
• Internal Storage: Custom 825GB SSD
• IO Throughput: 5.5GB/s (Raw), Typical 8-9GB/s (compressed)
• Expandable Storage: NVMe SSD Slot
• External Storage: USB HDD Support
• Optical Drive: 4K UHD Blu-Ray Drive

The PS5 runs on an AMD CPU chip based on the third generation of AMD's Ryzen line. It's an eight-core, custom-made, beast based on the company's new 7nm Zen 2 microarchitecture. The CPU is a custom variant of AMD Radeon's Navi family and will support ray tracing - an effect that is a staple of Hollywood, and one that's beginning to appear in high-end PC processors and the Nvidia RTX gaming line.

The PS5 harnesses the power of the last-generation Zen CPU architecture in conjunction with AMD's freshly revealed Navi graphics architecture.

A big part of that GPU setup is support for 8K resolutions and ray tracing in PS5 games. The latter is a technology that greatly improves the visual fidelity in games, as it mimics the way light moves and bounces from object to object, particularly reflective surfaces, and refraction through water, other liquids, and glass. Given the proper optimizations, games can exhibit more realistic lighting and shadows as a result. PS5 architect Marc Cerny has said that say ray tracing isn't just about visuals, as it can yield audio enhancements for players and developers alike, according to GamesRadar.

PS5 features

• PS5 supports expandable storage, but don't buy an NVME drive without Sony validation if you want to use it with the console. If you'd like to know more, then check out Rich Leadbetter's analysis of the PS5's inner workings and our explainer on PS5 SSD storage.
• PS5 will support backward compatibility with seemingly all PS4 games, due to it being "based in part on the PS4's architecture." The performance boost of the PS5 is so significant, however, that these games will need testing. Sony has said that the majority of the top 100 most played games are working, so expect support for the biggest PS4 titles at launch.
• At first, some games may be released on both the PS4 and PS5 at the same time. We'll find out whether or not any games, especially release titles, will be cross-gen closer to the PS5's release date.
• PS5 offers a Digital Edition and one which can support physical media. Both options will be available at launch.
• Game installations will be more configurable thanks to the way the SSD works (look below) players will be able to delete a single-player campaign for example, without removing the multiplayer, if the developers provide this support.
• Game sizes should smaller or, at least, better optimized. Due to the SSD-only solution with the PS5, developers will no longer need to duplicate data to make a standard 5400 RPM read faster. Wired commented that "how developers will take advantage of that space will differ; some may opt to build a larger or more detailed game world, others may be content to shrink the size of the games or patches."
• PS5 will have some form of cloud functionality - "we are cloud-gaming pioneers,' Cerny told Wired, "our vision should become clear as we head towards launch.
• Confirmed PS5 accessories include a Charging Station (for up to two DualSense controllers), a Pulse 3D Wireless Headset, a Media Remote, and an HD Camera with "dual 1080p lenses".
• PS5 PSVR support, at least with the current headset, has been confirmed. There is a leak, in the form of a patent filed in February 2019, of a new headset that will have two front and one rear camera, with an additional camera on a Move-style controller. There is also a mention that this could all be operated wirelessly.
• The PS5 home screen will be more dynamic. This includes being better off at showing live elements, such as displaying available missions or allowing players to select their activity in real-time. "As a player, you just jump right into whatever you like," Cerny explained.
• The Geometry Engine is a new block that will give developers more control over triangles, primitives, and geometry culling. You can learn more about this in Digital Foundry's analysis.
• The Tempest Engine uses the key tenets of presence and locality to help create more realistic audio. Coupled with the Head-related Transfer Function (HRTF for short) sound should sound different to you depending on the shape of your ear, reported Eurogamer.

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