Tag: Hardware
News PS5 Is Selling Twice As Fast As PS4 in China
On the move
While there’s a lot of doom and gloom surrounding consoles lately, largely due to flattening growth and spiralling costs, it’s perhaps worth remembering that there are still plenty of success stories that can be attributed to the PS5. One of which pertains to the Chinese market, where Sony’s system is selling two times faster than...
News PS5 Pro Is Seemingly Starting to Appear in Source Code
Pro tip
More speculation about the imminent arrival of the PS5 Pro is circulating on social media, where it appears the source code for No Man’s Sky’s newest update includes a reference to the supercharged hardware. Eagle-eyed data miners spotted references to a graphics profile named ‘Trinity’, which is the rumoured codename of the new...
News Sony Wants Non-PS5 Owners to Use Its Accessories
Beyond boundaries
While it’s generally been a smaller story within the overall PlayStation narrative this generation, there’s no doubt Sony has quietly increased its focus on accessories for the PS5. The mix of products available is really good, spanning the official pro controller DualSense Edge, the streaming handheld PS Portal, and various...
News PS5 Sales Reach 59.3 Million as Sony Falls Just Short of Fiscal Year Forecast
Happy new (financial) year
The PS5 is doing fantastically overall, although the console's results for the final quarter of Sony's fiscal year 2023 means it's fallen slightly behind the company's already-lowered forecast. The machine managed to ship 4.5 million units in the three-month period ending 31st March, 2024, bringing its total for FY23 to...
News Sony Sings PS Portal's Praises with Accolades Trailer
"...Feels fantastic..."
PlayStation's plucky little PS5 remote option, the PS Portal, continues to be a pleasant surprise for everyone involved, Sony included. The initially iffy-sounding device has proven to be wildly popular, and PlayStation has released an accolades trailer to remind us of the fact, featuring glowing quotes from some of the most...
News Google Engineers Responsibly Report PS Portal Exploit, Ending Potential PSP Emulation
Inevitably
In February, we brought you word of a group of Google engineers who, apparently just for fun, managed to hack Sony's streaming PS Portal to run emulated PSP games offline. Being courageous White Hat types, the group "responsibly reported" the issues to Sony. The exploit was quietly fixed in patch 2.0.6, which also seems to have improved...
News PS Portal Update Appears to Have Quietly Improved Video Quality
Read between the lines of the patch notes
PS Portal owners may have noted that system update 2.0.6 is now available, requiring the usual restart rigamarole. The patch notes for the update are incredibly sparse but potentially quite profound, reading simply: "We've improved system software performance and stability." In the hours since, players have...
News Devs Allegedly Pondering the Point of Sony's PS5 Pro Upgrade
"Many feel they're not making the most out of PS5 yet"
There have been two big stories on the ground at GDC this year: Xbox’s flatlining brand and the purpose of the PS5 Pro. Speaking as part of a podcast, GamesIndustry.biz’s well-connected reporter Christopher Dring noted that he didn’t meet a “single person” at the show that understood...
News PS Portal Is Proving Everyone's Predictions Wrong
A whole new world
Prior to its release, few predicted PS Portal would be successful. Many were baffled by Sony’s decision to release the Remote Play handheld, which streams gameplay directly from a PS5. But as the months wear on, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that Sony’s added a permanent fixture to its hardware portfolio, with the device...
News PS5 Pro's Proprietary DLSS-Esque Upscaler Sounds Superb
4Kin' get in
The days of developers pushing for native resolutions feel like they’re coming to an end. The reality is that it’s a waste of resources, especially as upscalers like DLSS (or Deep Learning Super Sampling, to give it its full name) get better and better. It’s no surprise Sony is exploring similar technology with PS5 Pro, and it...
News PS5 Pro's Rumoured Spectral Super Resolution Tech Could Be Transformative
A long-term play
According to all rumours and reports, Sony is working on its own reconstruction technology similar to DLSS, or Deep Learning Super Sampling. The feature, named PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution according to Insider Gaming, seems like a long-term play by the platform holder, with the first iteration planned for the PS5 Pro...
News Temporary PS5 Price Cuts Target Europe As Sony Makes Final Push for Goal
We go again
Sony may have revised its PS5 sales estimate for the current financial year, which will end on 31st March. But unsurprisingly it still wants to sell as many systems as possible, which means it’s going to make one last push for that all-important 21 million units target it’s been eyeing. And how does it intend to do that? One last...
News Google Engineers Hack PS Portal to Run Emulated PSP Games
Finally
PlayStation's plucky little handheld streaming solution, the PS Portal, has already been hacked, taking a couple of Google employees about a month of effort. Their work is not intended to be released for general consumption anytime in the "near future", but the hack is "all software-based", meaning no hardware exploitation is required. Andy...
News Upgraded PS5 Pro Planning to Be the Best Place to Play GTA 6
System expected in the second half of the year
Murmurs of an upgraded PS5 Pro have been rumbling for some time now, and analysts are certain it’ll arrive some time later this year. The souped-up system is being billed as the best place to play the hotly anticipated GTA 6, which is scheduled to release some time next year. It’s expected the new...
News PS5 Is Entering the 'Latter Half of Its Life Cycle', Says Sony
Manufacturer expecting a gradual decline in hardware sales
We don’t know about you, but it feels like the PS5 has barely broken a sweat yet. Despite being over three years old, the system’s lifespan has been hugely impacted by the pandemic, which has seen its first-party software cadence slow to a crawl and its early years massively affected by...
News Sony Slashes PS5 Forecast to 21 Million for Fiscal Year
A decrease of four million units
As reported earlier today, Sony shipped 8.2 million PS5 consoles during the three-month period ending 31st December, 2023 – a very good number which contributed to record-breaking revenue, but not enough to help it reach its forecast of 25 million units for the current financial year. Thus far, it?
Rumour A New PlayStation Handheld Console Reportedly in the Works
We wish
Following the PlayStation Vita's relatively poor commercial performance, it's never really seemed likely that Sony would return to the handheld space. In a world where smartphones are already everywhere and development budgets and timescales are ballooning, a dedicated handheld console seems like the last thing Sony would focus on. However,...
News PS5 Had Sony's Best Year in Japan for Almost 20 Years
Hardware strong, software not
Sony managed to sell an enormous 2.6 million PS5 consoles in Japan last year, representing a colossal 124 per cent increase year-over-year. Of course, the dramatic upswing was to be expected following the dismal hardware shortages that plagued the platform in the post-pandemic period. This result, however, represents...
News Believe It or Not, PS4 Sales Rocketed in the UK Last Year
That's not a typo
There’s still life in the ol’ PS4 it seems, as sales of Sony’s last-gen console increased by a face-melting 633 per cent year-over-year in 2023 in the UK. This number is obviously heavily influenced by the sheer scarcity of the system the year prior, as the tail of the console was dramatically cut short due to the chip...
News Sony Hit with French Fine for Allegedly Manipulating PS4 Controller Market
Sacrebleu!
France's antitrust regulator, Autorité de la Concurrence, has handed Japanese tech giant Sony a fine of 13.5 million Euros ($14.8 million) after finding it used its dominant position to corner the market, specifically in the realm of third-party PS4 controller manufacture. Competition Policy International/Pymnts (thanks PSLS) reported...
News Sony Officially Confirms PS5 Has Passed the 50 Million Units Milestone
On pace with PS4
PS5 has officially sold 50 million units. That number is accurate as of 9th December, 2023 – and reflects consoles sold directly to consumers, not shipped to retailers. It means the system took 161 weeks to achieve the milestone, just one week more than it took the PS4 to reach the same feat. Obviously, the new-gen system has...
Rumour PS5 Pro Targeting September 2024, Will Have Proprietary Upscaling Tech
The machine of tomorrow
Things are starting to heat up in the PS5 Pro rumour mill. Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb, who's been a relatively reliable source of information in the past, has made further comments on Sony's unannounced mid-step console, suggesting it's currently scheduled to arrive in about nine months' time. In the above video, Grubb comments...
News PS5 Accounted for Almost Half of All Console Sales in the UK Last Month
A big Black Friday
Fuelled by some aggressive marketing and tempting price promotions, PS5 accounted for almost half of all consoles sold in the UK during November. The system – which was massively supply constrained during previous holidays – improved a whopping 126 per cent year-on-year and 149 per cent month-on-month, driving overall hardware...
News We Predict a Riot! PS5 Down to $350 in Black Friday Doorbuster
Form an orderly queue
<products id="25654"> An original model, disc-based PS5 console will cost you just $349.99 from Target today – while stocks last, of course. Presumably in a last-ditch effort to clear out any remaining stock, the US-based retailer will flog Sony’s new-gen format at a dramatically decreased price this Black Friday –...
News New PS5 Slim Model Available to Pre-Order Now in Europe, Release Date Revealed
Small and mighty
PS5's new-look design is already available to buy in North America, and it'll soon launch in Europe as well. The slim model, as even Sony itself is calling it now, has been made available to pre-order from its PlayStation Direct web store and a variety of retailers, so you can now secure yourself this refreshed console before it's...
News Steam Store Update Adds Specific DualSense, DualShock Controller Support
Further entwined
PC is now a central pillar of Sony's PlayStation strategy, becoming more relevant daily. Evidence suggests that some PC Trophy support is in the offing, which is to say nothing of the lucrative new revenue streams the firm has found on platforms like Steam and, more recently, GOG. Further pro
News Sony Says PS Portal Wasn't Designed to Make a Profit
It's all about engagement
The PlayStation Portal is Sony's popular new handheld remote-play machine, which is currently dividing enthusiast opinion. Apparently, the device was never designed as a profit-making product. Instead, the firm says, the goal of the brave little device is to increase PS5 engagement. Speaking to Japanese outlet
News PS5 Is Now Above PS4 in USA, While Its New-Gen Rival Flounders
Xbox Series X|S is struggling
After the severe disruption of the post-pandemic semi-conductor shortage, enormous credit must be levelled at Sony for rebounding in such an impressive way. According to lifetime Circana sales data shared by analyst Mat Piscatella, the PS5 is now nine per cent above the PS4 launch aligned, accurate as of 28th October,...
News Yes, You Can Attach the New PS5's Detachable Disc Drive to Another Console
Sony's feeling flexible
Swapping disc drives with the new PS5 is easy, and while you will need an Internet connection in order to verify the hardware, you’ll easily be able to swap between different devices. This is demonstrated in the video embedded above, as YouTuber TronicsFix registers a single disc drive with various consoles, and then swaps...
News Sony Takes Control of UK as PS5 Climbs to 51% Market Share
More than double Xbox over last six months
As has been reflected in other parts of Europe – like in France, where Sony currently is beating Xbox Series X|S by a ratio of 90 per cent – the PS5 has gained 51 per cent market share in the UK over the past six months. By comparison, Nintendo has just 25 per cent market share, while Microsoft has...
News People Are Beginning to Play Around with PS5's Remote Play Handheld
Stream like you mean it
While the PS Portal is technically Sony’s first portable since the PS Vita, the Japanese giant is treating it as more of an accessory for the PS5, like the DualSense Edge or upcoming Pulse headphones. That’s because the device can’t operate independently of the new-gen console, requiring an advanced, streamlined version...
News PS5's Install Base Closes on 50 Million As Sony Gets Increasingly Aggressive
As manufacturer strives for record year
Sony is making up for lost time. With the PS5 heavily affected by post-pandemic stock shortages, the Japanese giant is trying to catch up to the PS4’s sales – and overtake them. It’s a feat it’ll likely achieve over the holidays, as a 4.9 million units quarter has put it just one million units behind...
News PS5 Slim 'Not That Much Smaller', According to This Teardown Video
Size matters
As the PS5 redesign, already colloquially known as Slim, started to proliferate through the supply chain, it was only a matter of time before one would be seized and torn asunder. Content creators have been given units, and we can finally get a good look at PlayStation's latest gadget, which, on the surface, doesn't look that much...
News The First Photos of the PS5 Slim Are Circulating Online
It's definitely smaller
Colloquially (but technically not officially) known as the PS5 Slim, here’s your first photographic proof that the new console model is smaller than its predecessor. As the revised unit begins to proliferate throughout the retail chain, consumers are getting their mitts on the console, leading to comparison photos like...
Hands On Genki ShadowCast 2 Pro - A Seriously Powerful Capture Card
Perfect for your PS5
Via its growing stable of products, hardware maker Human Things is slowly but surely changing the landscape of gaming tech. It all began with the Genki wireless USB adapter for Switch, which was supplanted by the Waveform wireless earbuds. Then, the firm expanded into the realm of Switch docks with the
News You'll Need an Internet Connection to Pair PS5 Slim's Optional Blu-ray Drive
Preservation concerns raised
Sony will introduce a new PS5 model imminently, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 bundles are already being spotted in the wild. Along with photographs of the revised box art comes confirmation of a potential controversial tidbit: an Internet connection will be required to pair the optional Blu-ray disc drive with your...
News PS5 Slim's Digital Edition Gets a Stealth Price Increase in USA
Play more, pay more
Sony is using the opportunity of the PS5’s smaller, slimmer relaunch to stealthily bump the price of the Digital Edition in the United States. While we already know you’ll need to pay extra for a standalone vertical stand, the organisation has also made the decision to hike the overall cost of the non-Blu-ray unit by $50...
News PS5's Remote Play Handheld PS Portal Releases on 15th November
You can pre-order now
Sony’s previously announced Remote Play portable for PS5, the PS Portal, will officially launch on 15th November – as dated overnight. Pre-orders are open now in select countries via the platform holder’s own direct-to-consumer storefront, PS Direct. The manufacturer says pre-orders will open at other retailers on 29th...
News PS5 Sales Surge a Frankly Flabbergasting 244% in Europe
On the up and up
Another day, another impressive PS5 achievement. Today it’s the turn of European tracker GSD, which has reported a 244 per cent increase in sales year-over-year on Sony’s system this July, following various price promotions right across the world. It should be noted that this hardware data only covers select countries like...
News Video of New PS5 Slim Model Posted Online
Not actually slimmer*
Update: A video has now been uploaded to Twitter that shows the new PS5 model in all its glory, complete with a slim slit on both sides. As the casing is shown, the disc drive gives the design a much more significant bulge than the original model. It's possible this could still be a fake, but video footage lends more weight to...
News 8BitDo's Latest Gadget Lets You Play PS1, PS2 with Your PS5 DualSense
Doing the essential work
8BitDo has been putting out some seriously cool tech for years now, and its various controllers are lauded as some of the best 3rd-party offerings out there. For its next trick, the company might have just crafted its coolest gizmo yet: the 8BitDo Retro Reciever for PS is a dongle you can plug directly into a PS1 or PS2 that...
Additional accoutrements
Once rumoured and since formally announced, Sony Interactive Entertainment's take on the Earbud still doesn't have a release date. FCC filings might shed some more light on the device in question, however, and it looks like active noise cancellation is on the cards, as well as a USB transceiver for lossless audio and...
News PS5 Sales Absolutely Explode in the UK Following Price Cut
Up by an enormous 75 per cent
Price elasticity is an easy to understand concept: the price goes down and the sales go up. Sony has been enjoying an extraordinarily strong year with the PS5, and thus it was inevitable that the moment it cut prices, it’d see sales absolutely surge. And that’s exactly what’s happened in the UK, where a disc-based...
News Yes, All Those Awesome Marvel's Spider-Man 2 PS5 Accessories Are Getting Scalped
Console covers fetching up to $200
Sony opened pre-orders for its collection of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 accessories earlier this week, with its custom console covers and DualSense controller selling out pretty fast. While you can still purchase the hardware bundle, it seems scalpers have their eye on the prize when it comes to the aforementioned...
Rumour PS5 Pro Release Date Reportedly Slated for November 2024
Internally codenamed Project Trinity
Sony will reportedly release an upgraded PS5 Pro hardware model in November 2024, according to a report from Tom Henderson, who’s successfully leaked PlayStation’s hardware plans in the past. The Insider Gaming scribe – this time writing for Key to Gaming – accurately outed the Japanese giant’s Remote...
News PS5 Sales Spike a Staggering 116% in Europe
Sony comfortably leading across all major metrics
PS5 hardware sales spiked an impressive 116 per cent year-over-year in Europe during June, as Sony’s console continues to make up for the shortfall it experienced due to stock shortages in the aftermath of the pandemic. The next-gen console has absolutely rocketed in 2023, and is likely to end the...
News PS5 Is €100 Off in Some European Countries, Suggesting Hardware Revision Is Coming
Conspicuous
Sony is not struggling to sell PS5 consoles this year, as it’s been breaking records all over the world since the hardware became more readily available. It’s conspicuous, then, that the traditional disc-based unit is actually on sale in some major European territories, including Spain and
News Kit Your PS5 Out in LeBron James Designed Decals from 27th July
Price, release date, pre-order details revealed
As first revealed back in March, Sony is collaborating with basketball icon LeBron James to design a set of PS5 Console Covers and a limited edition PS5 DualSense controller. Their designs are heavily inspired by graffiti, and today Sony has confirmed they will be available from 27th July 2023. The PS5...
News PS5 Bundle with Two Years of PS Plus Premium Appears to Leak
Hard to be nonplussed over this
There’s some debate over whether PS Plus Premium offers value for money, but it’s getting weaker as Sony continues to extend the selection of software available with its most expensive subscription. One thing that’s inarguable, however, is that new PS5 owners can get an absurd amount of content with the...
News PS5 Console Sales Up an Impressive 81% This Year in the UK
But May represented a slight decline
PS5 console sales are up an impressive 81 per cent year-over-year in the UK so far, reflecting Sony’s ability to overcome manufacturing issues which have plagued the platform since launch. Component shortages enforced by the coronavirus pandemic led to severe stock issues, but those problems have since been...
