It was just a few weeks ago when Microsoft revealed their next-gen console- The Xbox Series X. Hot on the heels of that, it seems like Sony might just announce the upcoming PS5 to the world at CES next week. However, if recent leaks and rumors are to be believed, then the specs of these consoles might just have leaked in their entirety. While we had an idea about what kind of hardware the consoles will be using, the full specifications have never been revealed publically. Alas, that just might change soon if both Sony and Microsoft want to get ahead of each other now.
In a recent report by Digital Foundry, it’s has been seemingly confirmed (albeit still under speculation) what the next-gen consoles might be using under the hood. The report suggests that Sony’s next-gen console, the PS5 might pack about 30% less power when compared against the Xbox Series X.
This spec sheet does indeed paint an interesting picture of where both console companies might be headed next-gen. While Microsoft has touted the Series X as their most powerful console ever, the PS5 has also been praised by developers as easy to work for. Both consoles will have similar hardware, like a Zen 2 CPU from AMD and hardware-based Raytracing support. We still don’t have any idea about how the companies will differ when their base specs are so similar. Nevertheless, it’s interesting to see the power difference between the 2 consoles already being a hot topic for discussion, almost a year out from release.
The PS5 leak has some interesting things to note here. Both Sony and Microsoft have already stated their next-gen consoles are going to be fully backward compatible. As per Digital Foundry’s analysis, it seems like instead of software emulation, the PS5 will instead turn down its clocks in order to fully emulate a PS4. The backwards compatibility is baked right into the silicon here, and Xbox seems to be using something similar for the same process.
Microsoft’s Xbox Series X has also been confirmed to be implementing VRS (Variable Rate Shading), while Sony hasn’t confirmed that in any way. It is, however, an educated guess that Sony would also be implementing the same technology in some capacity in order to reach insane resolution support such as 8K. As we mentioned in our previous story regarding the next Xbox, the console will pack GPU power of up to 12 Teraflops. Notice we say ‘up to’, as Microsoft has confirmed that they’ll be launching multiple SKUs of the console with varying specifications. Sony’s PS5, on the other hand, seems to be using a similar GPU but at 9.2 TF. Keep in mind that both consoles will be using AMD’s RDNA based technology (similar to this year’s Radeon RX 5700 cards).
With all this talk of leaked specs and power, pricing is also an issue that both companies will have to face. While Microsoft’s console seems to be more powerful, it’ll also be more expensive to produce. Perhaps that’s why they’ll be launching the second console, codenamed Lockhart, with lower-tier specs and of course, a cheaper price. Sony meanwhile seems to be aiming at a relatively more practical price-to-performance ratio. After all, they don’t want to repeat what happened at the PS3 launch. We expect both consoles to be priced around or under $500 at launch.
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