A video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment in the 1990s. The PlayStation, a 32-bit system that used CDs, was the first of a new generation of consoles to elicit critical acclaim and massive sales. Its premiere games included fan favorites such as Gran Turismo, Crash Bandicoot, and Tekken, which spawned multiple sequels. It also featured aggressive youth marketing and a low retail price. The PlayStation was eventually supplanted by the faster PlayStation 2 (see PS 2) and later by the more powerful PlayStation 3 and 4 (see PS3 and PS4 Pro).
PlayStation 5’s most significant improvement over its predecessor comes in the form of increased performance, with the ability to run games at up to 4K resolution and high frame rates on supported displays. This allows for smoother animations, more detailed graphics and even support for advanced visual technologies such as ray-tracing.
While the PS5’s performance improvements are impressive, the console is still far behind PCs in terms of graphical capability. It’s important to keep in mind that the console isn’t intended to replace your gaming PC, but rather serve as a complementary device.
The PS5’s user interface feels like a natural expansion of what came before it, with tiles that are smaller and less intrusive than on the PlayStation 4. The interface also renders at full 4K resolution with HDR on supported TVs, which is a delight to behold. Sony has taken the opportunity to rethink how you navigate the dashboard as well, with features that allow you to use your voice to load up games and navigate the system. While this feature isn’t for everyone, it’s great to see Sony experimenting with new ways of interacting with your console.