The Rapid Reviews’ View – PS5: The Future of Gaming Event (June 2020)

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Rocking that hype dial tonight are my fellow Rapid Reviews crew members, Pete, Shaun, Alex, Chris and Stefan.

There’s fair reason to expect a decent show given the unassuming, oh-so-modest name of ‘The Future of Gaming’ Sony have plastered on to their marketing, so just for fun, we lay down some of our predictions, both wild and realistic for tonight’s PS5 event.

I should probably go first then, right?

Mike’s Predictions

This time I’m going to stick to just three predictions, one safe; one unlikely; and one arguably beyond the realms of possibility.

Let’s talk safe. We’ll see Spider-man. Easy choice perhaps, given the mammoth success of Insomniac’s glorious take on the web-crawler but hear me out. Miles Morales is a sure-fire playable character, if not chief protagonist. They’ve already made a likeable take on Peter’s successor but at this point in this particular universe there’s a golden opportunity: co-operative multiplayer.

Imagine joining up with a buddy to co-ordinate a cunning sneak attack on an enemy base or continuing a chase across the other side of New York to keep a pesky super-villain in check. The synchronisation of disarming bombs to avoid simultaneous blasts or maybe just a good old web-slinging race across the city. Frankly, I’d take any implementation.

Alright, so that’s the safe bet (with a caveat) so what of the wild one? Sonic at launch as a timed-exclusive. A genuine acknowledgement to the farse of ’06 with a remastered version (or a working version, if you prefer) of the ill-fated Sonic The Hedgehog PS3 launch title. Pretty silly idea but wouldn’t that be something?

My final prediction is very simply. Sony have drafted Kaz Hirai back from his advisory position to shake up the world of PlayStation. In a scientific experiment Kaz has been miniaturised and cloned 50 million times. Each PS5 Dual Sense controller comes with a mini-Kaz inside. He has but one function.

When brand new launch title Ridge Racer, provided free with every console, boots up for the first time, a voice explodes from the Controller… “Riiiiiiiiiidge Racer… remember that?”. End.

Oh, and if we do get a price. £479/$499.

Pete’s Predictions

With the PS5 showcase happening, I have been sceptical about Sony’s offering so far, as we have seen next to nothing about the console, with exception to the Wired article and a lacklustre GDC style discussion with Mark Cerny.  Which is why we will get a detailed look at the retail unit and what exactly it can do.  Sony will show how much of an impact that 3D audio will make, as well as the Superfast SSD inside the system.  In addition to this, we will more than likely get a price and release window.  My prediction is this: The price will be £500 for the 1TB version and the release window will be November 2020.

In terms of a game that we may see, I will take a series we haven’t seen in a long while as my prediction.  The I.P that I would like to see usually shows off the features of the hardware of the console and, in particular, the DualShock controller when it was first released in 1999.  With Sony choosing to rebrand their controller DualSense, I believe that the Ape Escape would be the perfect game to highlight, not only the DualSense, but the PS5’s alleged lack of load times, with an open world, action platformer/collect-a-thon.

Shaun’s Predictions

The only proper way to kick off the next gen is to announce a title by Rockstar Games. In fact, that’s not entirely true. To kick off the next gen with a PlayStation-exclusive Rockstar game would be the proper, proper way. At this moment in time, I’m not picky: a new IP, Bully 2, Manhunt 3, Max Payne 4, Midnight Club 5, GTA VI – I’ll take any of them.

Scratch that. Maybe not Midnight Club 5 – I just put that in there so that the titles were in numerical order…

Of course, that’s not realistic. I’m at peace with that. Sort of. Not really. Anyway, what I do foresee is that the usual suspects synonymous with PlayStation will make an appearance. A new Wipeout game? Likely. Ratchet and Clank? No doubt. Gran Turismo? Guaranteed.

Whether or not we see sequels to some of the more recent PlayStation exclusives remains to be seen, but if there is even a hint of a sequel to Days Gone, Spiderman or God of War (you know the one I mean), then you can be sure that Sony will move into first place in the race for most hardware sales during the festive period. Yes, that’s right. I also believe we will see it release in November, for no reason other than the fact it would be quite excellent for players the world over.

Alex’s Predictions

After being a massive Xbox fan in the 360 days my conversion to Sony has been strong, I love the PS4 and have had both versions of it. The PS5 is exciting for me from what I have seen, and I have a few predictions prior to tonight’s event.

I am going with a £499 and £599 price point with a 1TB and 2TB drive respectfully and maybe even a deluxe £799 kit with the PSVR or extra pad and wireless headset. I think we will have some new features like direct-to-twitch linking with better support for streamers, an in-built mic and speaker in the controller for online chat without a headset, the ability to share save points or point during gameplay to challenge friends to complete things and a better in-built gyroscope for the controller for Switch-like motion controls.

Game-wise I expect Spiderman 2, Horizon Zero Dawn 2, Last Of Us 2 (upgraded for PS5) and maybe a new family friendly game for launch. I expect EA to show off new game engines too for FIFA, NHL, Madden etc.

I would love a launch version of a new Batman game too, but we can only hope.

Stefan’s Predictions

Realistic: I think there will be hardware reveal, if not the console itself, then a special headset or more on the DualSense. Maybe a DualSense Pro version with back triggers and changeable configurations.

Dream/Wacky prediction: Sony will announce that they have bought Platinum and Konami then will re-release/remaster/remake Metal Gear Rising. Sony will also show a first party JRPG finally, for the first time in a long time.

Square will show will showcase FF7 Remake running on PS5 hardware and maybe a glimpse of next version. We’ll also see a Souls game remaster or Bloodborne sequel, Destiny 2 for PS5 shown running at 4k 60fps (much talked about but never shown).

For their first party games, we’ll see Horizon 2 potentially at launch, a glimpse of Spider-man 2, though not at launch, and something from their quiet studios.

Don’t forget the usual EA Sports flash of FIFA/Madden/etc.

Chris’ Predictions

I predict that we are going to see a reignition of the former rivalry between the Resident Evil and Silent Hill franchises. Over the next gen both franchises will hit as hard as a shotgun blast. I’m ready to turn out the lights, grab a comfort pillow and get my gore on!

Feel free to come ridicule us for how wrong we are. Or bow to our masterful insight. Your call. Fine me @2DMike3D on Twitter!