Tag: Hardware
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...
News Sony Expects to Sell Over 108 Million PS5 Consoles This Generation
Celestially significant forecast
Sony CEO Jim Ryan is feeling bullish about PS5 sales now that the COVID-induced supply slump is over, and the plucky little box can actually be found on store shelves. Already the best-selling console for months, the Sony bigwig says he expects the PS5 to breach 108 million units sold over the course of its lifetime...
News Final Fantasy 16's PS5 Console Bundle Can Be Pre-Ordered Now
Costs £539/$559
If you're in the market for a PS5 and are looking to pick Final Fantasy XVI up next month, you may want to combine the two purchases for the special console bundle releasing alongside the Square Enix RPG. Available for pre-order now is the previously announced Final Fantasy XVI PS5 console bundle, which packs in a PS5 download code...
News Sony Patent Adds Weight to PS5 Redesign Rumours
Slimming down
Sony Interactive Entertainment has filed a new patent for a detachable optical disk drive, which, while not confirmed by any means, adds extra credence to those PS5 redesign rumours floating around late last year. The patent, known by its catchy technical moniker, US-20230118186-A1_I, is described as "an optical disc drive that can be...
News PS5 Sales Increase An Outrageous 369% in Key European Countries
Both Xbox and Switch decline
These statistics are getting a little bit samey, but new data underlines PS5’s impressive rise to dominance. The console’s sales increased 369 per cent throughout the first quarter of 2023 in key European countries like France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, and Portugal. That’s even more...
News PSVR2 Sales May Actually Be Stronger Than Has Been Suggested
Estimates paint a more positive picture
Earlier in the month, a Bloomberg report citing analysis from IDC’s Francisco Jeronimo suggested that PSVR2 was off to a “slow” start and would need a price cut to avoid “complete disaster”. This prompted plenty of hand-wringing from enthusiasts, who pointed to many perceived “problems” with the...
Rumour Sony's Allegedly Cut PSVR2 Production Plan by 20% in 2023
Growing pains
There’s been all kinds of speculation about PSVR2 and its supposedly slower than expected launch. Bloomberg had previously reported that Sony had cut its production plan for the peripheral’s launch by more than half, although this was al
News No, the PS5 Slim Didn't Leak Earlier Today
Chill out
You’re familiar with the video game news cycle now: retailers erroneously upload information and the Internet implodes. In the latest example of professional websites not doing their research, a listing from Australian retailer The Good Guys appeared to confirm the existence of a PS5 Slim earlier today. Except, unsurprisingly, it...
News PS5 Has Been Discounted for the First Time Since It Launched Over Two Years Ago
You better believe it
This is quite incredible: the PS5 has been available for over two years now, but it’s spent most of that time out of stock. Now platform holder Sony has finally got its supply chain in order, it’s unexpectedly discounted the device, with its God of War Ragnarok bundle available until 16th April, 2023 for $509.99. That...
News PS5 Sold More Last Month in Japan Than a Chunk of 2022
Things are looking up
PS5 sales increased by an eye-opening 457 per cent year-over-year in Japan last month, as Sony finally managed to get the system’s stock situation under control. The new-gen console sold an incredible 366,982 units in February 2023, more than the first four months of 2022 combined. That’s despite an increase in price, too!...
News PS5 Sales Surged An Outrageous 316% in the UK Last Month
On the ascension
There’s no doubt about it now: the PS5 is absolutely on fire. We’re seeing a similar story right around the world – including in Japan, where the system is now trending ahead of both the PS4 and PS3 – but in the UK specifically, Sony’s new-gen system is posting some truly outrageous numbers. To illustrate, in February, the...
News Analysts Expect PS5 to Extend Lead on Xbox Series X|S in 2023
Well, yeah
In arguably the safest prediction since “the sun will rise tomorrow”, analysts are predicting that the PS5 will increase its lead on Xbox Series X|S in 2023. According to data analysis group Ampere, Sony commanded about 45 per cent of the console market last year, but shortages of its new-gen console caused it to cede some ground to...
News PS5 Records Another Good Week of Sales in Japan, 2.5 Million Sold Since Launch
Hogwarts Legacy still sells best
As the PS5 Stock situation has less of an effect on consumers' ability to purchase the system, sales of the console have continued to grow in Sony's native country of Japan. It's now topped the region's hardware sales chart for five weeks in a row, with this latest round of purchases meaning over 2.5 million consoles...
News Xbox Series X|S Is Getting Trounced by PS5, Microsoft Weirdly Reveals
The solution? $69 billion
The funniest thing about the never-ending Activision Blizzard acquisition saga is how it’s prompted tech giants Microsoft and Sony to undermine their own businesses. Case in point: during a media briefing in Brussels earlier today, the Redmond firm proudly (?) declared that Xbox has a global market share of just 30 per...
News Hogwarts Legacy Tops Japanese Charts as PS5 Domination Continues
As if by magic
The PS5 continues to outsell the competition by some distance in its native Japan, with hardware numbers pushing past an impressive 93,000 last week. There's been some debate over why the PS5 is doing so well despite the fact that software sales seem so dead, but that's not really a point of contention this time around, as Hogwarts...
News PS5 Sales Increased 202% in Europe Year-over-Year, Xbox and Nintendo Switch Both Down
Flawless victory
PS5 sales increased by an eye-watering 202 per cent year-over-year across Europe in January, underlining Sony’s outrageously aggressive approach to 2023. In fact, the Japanese giant’s new-gen system was the only one to grow on the continent, as Nintendo Switch saw an 11 per cent decline during the same period, while Xbox Series...
News Japanese PS5 Hardware May Be Being Sent Overseas, Explaining Soft Software Sales
Stock allegedly being shipped to China
Sony is selling a lot of PS5 consoles in its native Japan right now, but physical software sales are non-existent. In the latest Famitsu report, the manufacturer moved almost 100k units, but not a single boxed title could break the software top ten – and they only would have needed to sell over 4,480 units to...
