PlayStation 5's main goals: quick load times, accessibility, and power

Sony has two main goals with the PlayStation 5: To make games as available as quickly as possible, and to make them look great.

The next-gen PS5 is built around power and accessibility, at least that's what developer sources close to the system tell Kotaku's Jason Schreier. The idea is to make a console that delivers tremendous power and speed.

This matches up with everything we currently know about the system. The power aspect is handled by a beefy new CPU and GPU combo built specifically for the console. The PS5 leverages a high-end customized AMD SoC with an 8-core, 16 thread Zen 2 CPU and Navi GPU, which should enable 4K 60FPS and higher frame rates in 1440p and 1080p.

There's reports of insane high-definition PlayStation 5 tech demos that're better than anything on the market today, complete with real-time raytracing effects. This speaks of the PS5's raw power and capabilities.

PlayStation 5 specs and details:

• Custom SoC with second-gen Navi GPU, Zen 2 8-core, 16 thread CPU
• Navi, Zen SoC uses new AMD RDNA 2.0 architecture
• Ultra-fast SSD
• Support for 4K 120 Hz TVs
• Ray-tracing enabled
• 8K graphics support (probably video, not gaming)
• Plays all PS4 games
• Separate games that ship on BD-XL Blu-ray discs
• New controller with extensive haptic and tactile feedback

As for speed, Sony wants to basically eliminate loading times with a new ultra-fast SSD to remarkably boost access times. PS5 owners will have near instant access to their games, complete with customized install options. Let's say you only want to play the campaign of a new game and don't feel like installing the 100GB+ onto your SSD; the PS5 will let you pick and choose what parts to install.

The PS5's SSD is so fast it's able to load a sequence in Spider-Man in just 0.83 seconds versus the PS4 Pro's 8 seconds.

There's no details on what's inside the super-fast SSD, whether or not it's hardware- or software-optimized (or both). We recently guessed that the PS5 could use Sony's ReRAM cache technology to massively accelerate loading times.

Accessibility isn't just about speed, though. It also includes backward compatibility. A big part of the accessibility focus is to streamline the transition from last-gen to next-gen, and that means native PS4 games playback. No exact details have been confirmed from developers just yet, but expect to see every PS4 game natively play on the PlayStation 5.

All of this really underlines things we already know, but remember these are Sony's goals for consumers. What's really interesting is how they're handling tools and hardware for developers. Sony has shipped out lots of PS5 devkits and is likely rolling out new SDKs and software-based technologies to ensure backward compatibility.

Sony is expected to reveal the PS5 in a special event in February 2020. The console will release in Holiday 2020, and it may cost $499.

Check below for more info:

PlayStation 5 Coverage:

• Leaked PlayStation 5 devkit photos show new DualShock controller
• PS5, Xbox Scarlett SSD may use Optane-like ReRAM to supercharge speeds
• NVIDIA G-Sync monitors to improve PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett
• PlayStation 5: Everything We Know So Far
• PlayStation 5 confirmed to have 8C/16T Zen 2 CPU from AMD
• PS5, Project Scarlett may use Samsung's 6th gen V-NAND NVMe SSDs
• PS5 backward compatibility confirmed, will play PS4 games
• Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 has 4K 120Hz output support
• PS5, Project Scarlett to hit over 10TFLOPs of power, sources say
• PS4 will be supported into 2022, to live alongside PS5
• Sony: ultra-high-speed SSD is 'the key' to next-gen PS5
• PS5 dev kit rumor: 'ultra-fast RAM', Navi GPU with 13 TFLOPs
• PlayStation 5 rumored to ship with 2TB of super-fast SSD for $499
• Insider: PlayStation 5 dev kit faster than Xbox Scarlett right now
• PS5 cartridges aren't real, patents are for Sony kids toys
• PS5's SSD may benefit PS4 games the most
• PS5 powered by Navi in 2020, AMD making Navi with Sony input
• Cloud-powered PlayStation controller may let you play free game demos
• Gran Turismo 7 is a PlayStation 5 launch title: launches Nov 20, 2020
• PS5 confirmed to support 8K video, ray tracing, all on Navi
• PlayStation 5 rumored to cost $499, launches November 20, 2020
• PlayStation game demos are coming back with Sony's ambitious new plan
• PS5 controller: Built-in mic, USB-C, no lightbar, ergonomic design
• PlayStation 5 concept video shows totally new design
• Sony solves PS5's biggest issue
• Sony: PS5 development going according to plan
• New Viking Assassin's Creed may be next-gen console launch game
• AMD working on 'secret sauce' for next-gen Xbox/PlayStation
• The first real photo of a PlayStation 5 dev kit appears
• Next-gen PS5/Xbox Scarlett open-world game: 'best real-time graphics'
• Sony restructures workforce to prepare for PS5
• PlayStation VR 2: built-in cameras, wireless, ready for PS5
• PS5 games will ship on 100GB Blu-ray BDXL discs
• PS5 and Xbox Scarlett will both handle ray tracing differently
• PlayStation 5 could feature AI-powered 'PlayStation Assist'
• Sony won't abandon singleplayer story-driven games on PS5
• PS5 rumor: GPU is nearly as powerful as RTX 2080, GPU clocked at 2GHz
• PlayStation 5 rumored to be unveiled on February 12, 2020
• Sony to raise PS5 cost thanks to U.S. tariffs