PlayStation 5 price, date and launch line up announced

Sony was back with a long list of huge announcements giving us a long-awaited price, launch date and games line up. The presentation overall was very good and featured a strong line up of games as well as some competitive pricing at the end. I’ll go over all the details just in case you missed any of the key details.

The show kicked off strong with the confirmation of Final Fantasy XVI. It had been heavily rumoured for some time, but we got quite an in-depth look at the game. It looks very medieval themed, almost like Game of Thrones and Final Fantasy had a baby, but I’d find it hard to complain about that combination – two franchises which I am very into. There was a short note at the start to say this was emulating the conditions on PS5 via PC, so it may be some time before we get our hands on this game (perhaps 2022 at the very earliest). It’s also going to be a PlayStation Console Exclusive, but it’s also coming to PC. The latest edition of Final Fantasy looks to be going back to its roots rather than the more futuristic version we’ve seen in the most recent FFXV. The game is being directed by Hiroshi Takai and produced by Naoki Yoshida, who was the driving force behind Final Fantasy XIV.

Spider-Man: Mile Morales was shown off next with our first look of gameplay. As expected it looked very good with Spidey fighting a bunch of bad guys on a bridge (superheroes fighting on bridges has been a big theme recently related to Marvel’s Avengers). Mile Morales finds himself trying to stop the bridge from collapsing with the classic webbing holding it together. The action looked great and overall the game is looking fantastic and it was confirmed shortly after as a launch title coming on 12th and 19th November 2020. The game is also coming to PS4.

There was another huge announcement next with Hogwarts legacy, the rumoured Harry Potter RPG where you get to create your own wizard. Whispers of this game have been going around the industry since 2018, and it’s great to finally see it. Another gorgeous looking game taking advantage of the PS5’s power. This one is coming from Avalanche Software and is a 3rd person game with lots of very cool looking spells and monsters to battle with. Rather than set in modern-day, like the Harry Potter books and movies, this is going to be set in the 1800s. Players created their own Wizard and you are the key to battling a force that’s trying to tear apart the world. Hogwarts looks damn pretty in this game, although appreciation seems to have gone off the boil for Harry Potter in recent years.

Raven Studios were up next with a closer look at the first mission in the upcoming Call of Duty Cold War. There was a tense scene at an airport followed by a car chase, in one of the slower moments of the event overall. Raven also announced the multiplayer alpha would be available exclusive for PS4 this coming weekend.

Resident Evil Village (or Resident Evil 8) was up next in a creepy trailer full of zombies and classic Resident Evil gameplay elements. Oddworld: Soulstorm was also shown, which looks like a great next-gen upgrade to a classic formula. The game is a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7 with Ethan Winters being led to a village where his wife Mia is then killed by Chris Redfield. It’s gory looking stuff, and with the graphics boost, this one looks absolutely terrifying.

There was an in-depth look at Death Loop, where the main protagonist is caught in a time-loop and have to solve a puzzle to get out by assassinating a number of characters. This is from the developers behind Dishonoured and Prey and there’s plenty of hype behind this game.

Demon Souls was then shown off, which is looking absolutely stunning. It’s a full remake much like Final Fantasy VII we had this, built from the ground up. It’s been confirmed since the presentation this is going to be a day one launch title too. Sony also confirmed a price increase to £70, so it’s looking like next-ge games are going to be moving up a tier into a new price bracket.

Devil May Cry 5 was also shown and reports say this is going to support 120 fps, which sounds stunning. This is quite a hard thing to convey in these streams as youtube tend to compress the video, so I am very excited to see what these games are going to look like in person when the console comes out in November.

Sony also announced their PlayStation Plus collection, which is a bunch of hit PS4 games available to play on the PS5. This new PS5 benefit includes access to Batman: Arkham Knight, Battlefield 1, Bloodborne, Days Gone, Detroit Become Human, Fallout 4, Final Fantasy XV, God of War, Infamous Second Son, Monster Hunter World, Mortal Kombat X, Persona 5, Ratchet and Clank, Resident Evil 7, The Last Guardian, The Last of Us Remastered, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Until Dawn. Loads of great games there which will be available as a digital download on launch day. We don’t know the price just yet, but I’ll let you know as soon as I know more.

The final announcement for the night was the price and date. PlayStation 5 is going to cost £449.99 in the UK and £359.99 for the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition. It’s going to release on 12th November in the US, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea and then 19th November everywhere else. Slightly disappointing we’re in the everywhere else bracket, but still exciting news for the price and release date.

The PlayStation 5 is going to be the same price as the Xbox Series X and the digital-only version comes in a little lower than expectations. It’s not quite as low as the Xbox Series S, but that’s to be expected given the difference in specs between the Series X and S.

There was one final thing, and it was a BIG ONE. The sequel to 2018’s game of the year, God of War, was announced with a small teaser. God of War: Ragnorok will be coming in 2021.

Overall, it was a great presentation full to the brim of bangers. Starting off with Final Fantasy XVI was a strong start out of the blocks and following up with big hitters like Mile Morales and Hogwarts Legacy certainly made an impression. It was a little unclear in the presentation what the launch line up would be, but we’ve since had confirmation of that thanks to the Sony Blog.

Here’s a run down of the accessories and price

• DualSense™ Wireless Controller (standalone) – US$69.99/CAD$89.99/¥6,980/€69.99 (RRP)
• PULSE 3D™ wireless headset – with 3D audio support and dual noise-cancelling microphones US$99.99/CAD$129.99/¥9,980/€99.99 (RRP)
• HD Camera – with dual 1080p lenses for gamers to broadcast themselves along with their epic gameplay moments US$59.99/CAD$79.99/¥5,980/€59.99 (RRP)
• Media Remote – to navigate movies and streaming services with ease US$29.99/CAD$39.99/¥2,980/€29.99 (RRP)
• DualSense™ Charging Station – to conveniently charge two DualSense Wireless Controllers US$29.99/CAD$39.99/¥2,980/€29.99 (RRP)

and here’s the launch titles

• Astro’s Playroom (Japan Studio) – pre-installed on PS5
• Demon’s Souls (Bluepoint Games / Japan Studio) – US$69.99/CAD$89.99/¥7,900/€79.99 (RRP)
• Destruction All-Stars (Lucid Games / XDEV) – US$69.99/CAD$89.99/¥7,900/€79.99 (RRP)
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games) – US$49.99/CAD$64.99/¥5,900/€59.99 (RRP)
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition (Insomniac Games) – US$69.99/CAD$89.99/¥7,900/€79.99 (RRP)
• Sackboy A Big Adventure (Sumo Digital / XDEV) – US$59.99/CAD$79.99/¥6,900/€69.99 (RRP)

Pre-orders have gone live today, with some going as early as last night. Here in the UK Amazon, Game, Argos, Symths Toys and John Lewis are some of the retailers who have start taking preorders.