*UPDATE!* Mete has added his predictions! You’ll find them at the end! Feel free to send in yours too! Though I can’t promise you’ll all make it into the article haha.
PlayStation have a showcase for the PS5 at 9pm (BST) tonight! (16/09/2020) So, to keep us ticking over before the show begins, I asked a few of the Out of Lives team for 1 prediction and 1 hope/dream/comment. Check back in a day or so after the conference for the round up on how wrong we were! So, here are our predictions in no particular order!
Ben Nother
“Yooooooooo! My prediction is that the disc version of the PS5 will match the price of the XSX with a $50-$80 reduction on the digital version. For us Brits that’ll be £449.99 and maybe £379.99.”
A strong prediction first up there from Ben. It’s a fairly safe bet, I think, that we will finally get the price reveal but throwing a number down is a bold move in the prediction game. How far out will he be? A few pounds or a few hundred? Place your bets now!
“I’d also hazard a guess that Sony have been quiet so long as they are trying to schedule in a release date in early November. This may have been the 13th to keep it close to the same date, and on a Friday, as the PS4 release. Perhaps they’ve been looking at the logistics of bringing that up to the 7th now the XSX (Xbox Series X) date has been set to the 10th November.”
I mean, I asked for one prediction but already we’ve broken our remit with a second one from Ben. At any rate, this is a prediction I like. The one-upmanship of the PS4 era, particularly at E3 conference time, was a fun watch from the sidelines. Rivals throwing a bit of “friendly” shade at one another makes for an interesting time. So this, I like.
“What would I like? Absolutely loads. To cap off a release date and price would be a definitive list of the launch line up and launch window games. We’re two months out so dates for some games can be firmed up and a ‘Here are the five games (of those we’ve been promoting) coming day one and these will release during the holiday period / within the first three months’.”
It’s pretty telling that 2020 has been a rough ride when all one dreams of is a definitive list of things that will happen. Crucially, it is a list of games and not a list of signs of the apocalypse because I think we are a fair few into that particular list at this point. Thank you Ben! We’ll see how you’ve done after the event!
Alfred Rome
“I have no predictions.”
That’s not the game! Come on man, you must have at least one prediction to make.
“They will show some games.”
Okay, not exactly an “out there” prediction but I’ll take what I can get. At least now we know one prediction will almost definitely be right!
“Suppose I hope it is priced a bit lower than Series X”
That’s one hope that I share. Am I confident that it will happen? No. Do I want it to happen a heck of a lot? Absolutely I do. The cheaper it is, the better in my book.
The Fabric “Lee Chesnalavage” Fox
“Hey Adam. My predictions are always wrong but I think tomorrow we’ll obviously see the date and prices announced but I genuinely think they have one more thing hidden up their sleeve. Not really sure what it could be though; possibly some massive AAA first party launch game that they’ve managed to keep hidden or possibly a competitor to rival Game Pass (this is more likely at this stage).”
I’d love to see them drop an “Oh btw, this AAA First Party title is also coming out at launch.” That’s the sort of mic drop moment you watch these showcases for. A Games Pass rival service is up there too, do PlayStation even want to get into that sort of battle? I’m not so sure, but if they take the plunge and offer up a service as good as Game Pass, then they’ll be making headlines for the right reasons for a change.
“What I hope for is the announcement of Scalebound. I think it’s a MS IP though so it’ll never happen.
“
“Of all the predictions that could have been made… If this comes true, I won’t lie to you, if this comes true it is so outlandish that it will clearly mean that Lee is a witch and should be burned at the stake without further delay. I wouldn’t worry though Lee, this shouldn’t be an issue as you highlighted yourself. It’s a Microsoft IP.
As far as we know…
“Curiously though, we’ve never seen the rear side of the PS5 so perhaps there’s something secret about that and that’ll be what they reveal on Wednesday. It’ll likely have something to do with their removable SSD thing that Cerny mentioned way way back but then never spoke of again.”
I don’t think this is what it will be. I’m fairly sure that Mark Cerny – Lead Architect/Designer of the PS4 & PS5 – mentioned expandable storage and other NVMe drives like the one that is in the console as it is manufactured. NVMe SSD’s plug in directly to the motherboard so it’s unlikely that there will be a simple slot on the back for one, though I could easily be wrong about all of this so please don’t quote me.
“Or PSVR 2”
Now… now we are talking. I don’t see them announcing PSVR 2 yet, not when they are copping a lot of flak as it is for not giving people the info about PS5 they want. However, I think it is very possible that we’ll see some stuff on the back there that they gloss over or just don’t mention which will definitely be to do with PSVR 2. Whenever they get around to making it.
Me
So, that just leaves me, Adam Thomas, to give my predictions. I think it’s pretty nailed on that we will get a release date and a price this time around. The backlash if they don’t announce those will be severe and they know it. Mind you, if it is bad news, hiding it a little longer might be a tempting proposition for the Executives who have to say on camera how expensive it is. So, fingers crossed for good news.
My prediction and out there dream is that we get an announcement on a revamp for PlayStation Network. Now, they’ve made great strides in getting PSN to work a heck of a lot better than it did in the early days of PS4. Which themselves were a big improvement on the PS3 days, or so I’m told. But there’s only so far bolting on extensions and cobbling together solutions can get you before you have to just admit it is time for some new infrastructure. I’m sure a lot of that has been going on in the background anyway but getting a definitive statement of intent would be pretty cool. It needs to be faster, safer, better for gamers, devs, content creators, everyone. There’s a list of 1000 little changes that would make the whole thing a much better experience, from the store, to the friends list and so on.
Mete Redif
“I’m throwing my hat into the ring haha. £300 Digital, £400-450 for the big boy.”
Mete arrived late but came in all guns blazing with a blitzing prediction. If the digital version or PS5 comes in at £300 my jaw will drop and I probably won’t be able to pick it up til Christmas. I hope this one is right! Now for his hope/dream.
“That they produce a game pass / all access type deal to get people on board
My genuine thought process is Sony are arrogant enough to say “let’s just go toe to toe”
With the way the (Xbox Series) S came out price wise, Sony fanboys (aka me) would actually consider picking it up as a second console to play some Xbox exclusives. “
That’s quite the dream, the logic seems fairly reasonable too. The Xbox Series S price reveal was a true mic drop moment for Xbox. £250 is a very attractive option. Not to mention the fact, as Mete points out to me in a later message, the killer blow is the low cost monthly payment options. That could be a game changer all on its own particularly as it is so affordable.
So, we’ll find out just how wrong we are pretty soon. Enjoy the showcase and check back later in the week for a round-up of how well we did (or didn’t) do!
[…] so that means it is time to review the predictions made, which you can find in a previous article here. Keep an eye on the site for some more in-depth analysis in the coming days. I asked each of our […]