Sony's PlayStation 5 is still highly sought-after following its release in November 2020. Since then, the PS5 has been sold out consistently worldwide. In 2022, Sony will be releasing a new version of the PS5 with some notable changes. Currently, one of the PS5's best features is its ability to handle ray tracing. When ray tracing is turned off on the PS5, many AAA titles can run smoothly at 4k resolution with 120 frames per second. The PS5 controller is a redesign from the PS4 model and offers haptic feedback and a new body shape.
A number of its titles are official PlayStation exclusives. Horizon: Zero Dawn, Bloodborne, God of War, The Last of Us Part II, and Ghost of Tsushima are just a few of the games that can only be played on a PlayStation console. Between the impressive array of AAA titles, the sleek redesign, and the high performance, the PS5 is undeniably one of the best consoles currently available. That being said, there are plenty of misconceptions and myths about the PS5 that are worth unpacking.
8 The PS5 Is Impossible To Get
Perhaps the biggest misconception about the PS5 is that it’s impossible to get. The truth is that it's very difficult, but still quite possible to purchase a PS5 through Sony or another certified retailer. Sony announces official console restocks on their Twitter page. To make the process easier, before the PlayStation store is restocked, gamers should make sure they have a Sony PlayStation account logged into their desired web browsers.
There will be a direct queue link where gamers can join the store waiting room in advance of the restock. Gamers will be placed into queue and will eventually be allowed into the official PlayStation store. There is a limit on how many consoles can be purchased per account, but gamers can open multiple different browsers and have friends enter the queue on their Sony PlayStation accounts to maximize their chances.
Besides purchasing from the official store (which has the lowest prices), gamers can also find the PS5 for sale on Best Buy, WalMart and Amazon. These retailers may upcharge from MSRP, but resale prices have dropped 30% overall from previous rates. This is great news for aspiring PS5 owners, as a decrease in resale prices means it's likely that fewer people are trying to buy a PS5.
7 The PS5 Is More Powerful Than The Xbox Series X
While forums are alive with heated debates on whether PlayStation or Xbox makes the better console, it’s best to examine the specs when making a decision. Many have compared the consoles side-by-side. PS5 fans believe that it is a more powerful console than the Xbox Series X. But the Xbox console has a GPU with 12 TFLOPs and 52 CUs at 1.825GHz, while the PS5 has 10.28 TFLOPs with 36 CUs at 2.23 GHz. Objectively speaking, the PS5’s graphics are not quite as strong as the potential of the Xbox Series X, though both consoles are impressive.
The CPUs for both consoles are nearly identical, but the Xbox Series X can offer slightly better CPU performance with 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.8GHz instead of the PS5’s 3.5GHz. A key hardware difference that should excite gamers about the PS5 over the Xbox Series X is that the PS5 has an NVMe SSD slot that the Xbox doesn’t have, allowing gamers to store and load games incredibly fast.
6 The PS5 Can Only Be White
While white is currently the only stock color available for the PS5 console itself, there are custom faceplates available from other manufacturers in different colors. A number of third-party sites have plates that give the PS5 a new customized look for players seeking matte black, white, transparent, blue, red, gold or silver exteriors for their new consoles.
Gamers can design their own custom faceplates, like this The Last of Us 2 PS5 design. If players want a red or black PS5 controller, those can be purchased from the official Sony PlayStation online store. When it comes to color options for the official PS5 headsets, Sony just announced that a black PS5 headset will be released in October 2021.
5 The PS5 Is Like A High-End PC
The great hardware debate may never end, but gamers should know that comparing next-gen consoles like the PS5 to a high-end PC is like comparing apples and oranges. Each uses different technology that isn’t easily comparable. A console CPU or GPU is inherently different from a PC CPU or GPU at a foundational level. For example, the PS4 and Xbox One actually used APU chips, which functioned as an all-in-one CPU and GPU hybrid chip.
As Kostas Farkonas writes, the PS5’s CPU and GPU shouldn’t be compared to PC parts because console parts are designed to be “custom blocks.” This means that console hardware components like CPUs and GPUs are uniquely designed with subsystems that can’t exist anywhere else. The PS5’s CPU is also clocked differently than a PC CPU and thus is difficult to compare to a desktop’s processor.
4 All PS4 Game Saves Will Transfer To The PS5
Unfortunately, whether a PS4 game save can be transferred to the PS5 depends on each game's developers.
Some have announced that their games will be transferable so that players won’t have to start over, while others have confirmed that transferability won’t be something they’ll offer. Examples of games with backwards compatibility and patch upgrades that allow for game save transfers are God of War and Ghost of Tsushima.
3 PS4 Controllers Always Work With The PS5
There is a misconception that PS4 controllers will have 100% compatibility with the PS5. There is an interesting caveat to this: the PS4 controller will only work on the PS5 with PS4 games.
Basically, if players want to play PS5 games on the PS5, they’ll have to use the PS5 controller. While if players have PS4 games on their PS5, they can use the controller from either console model.
2 The Disc-Edition PS5 Reads All Disc Types
Many gamers might think that having a disc drive means any disc can be read. Unfortunately, there is a limit to the PS5 disc drive’s compatibility.
It can read PS4 and PS5 game discs and UltraHD Blue-Ray discs for playing movies and shows. But the PS5 won’t be able to read anything else—the console can’t read audio CDs or DVD audio discs of any kind.
1 The Disc-Edition PS5 Offers More Space
A common misconception about the PS5 is that the version with a disc drive allows players to install more games onto their console. Some believe that using a disc allows the PS5 to run the game off the disc without installing it onto the console. This, however, is unfortunately untrue. Both versions of the PS5 must install all games fully onto the console. There is no difference in installation sizes for the software for the disc and non-disc versions.
The main difference between the disc and non-disc versions of the PS5 is that the disc version allows for faster game installation. So for AAA titles, the disc version is better for those with slow internet speeds who want to install large game files quickly. For those with faster internet and patience, the digital, non-disc version is a suitable choice.