Epic: PlayStation 5 is a masterpiece of systems design

Sony's next-gen PS5 might be the single-biggest advancement for the PlayStation console brand, at least if Epic Games can be believed.

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Not a lot of devs have spoken out about the PS5's power and capabilities. But Epic Games has been quite vocal about the console's higher-end SoC, flexible architecture, and even called the PS5's ultra-fast SSD a "god-tier storage system". That praise continues with even more assurances the PS5 is truly a next-gen system.

In a recent interview with PlayStation Magazine, Epic Games VP of engineer Nick Penwarden said the console is a master-class bit of hardware. "The PlayStation 5 is a masterpiece of systems design. Not only is it driving a huge leap in computing and graphics performance, but it is also revolutionary in terms of storage and data compression technology, unlocking new kinds of games and experiences for players to enjoy."

Epic Games actually knows quite a bit about the PlayStation 5. Epic has been tremendously instrumental in helping design the PS5's hardware, software, and overall architecture from a developer standpoint.

Unreal Engine 5 was actually built from the ground up with the PlayStation 5 in mind, and Epic has been working with Sony for years.

Penwarden recently said similar things about the PS5 to VG247, asserting the customized PCIe 4.0 SSD with its 12-channel memory controller is revolutionary for the console market.

"The PlayStation 5 provides a huge leap in both computing and graphics performance, but its storage architecture is also truly special."

"The ability to stream in content at extreme speeds enables developers to create denser and more detailed environments, changing how we think about streaming content. It's so impactful that we've rewritten our core I/O subsystems for Unreal Engine with the PlayStation 5 in mind."

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Epic CEO Tim Sweeney is also a huge fan of the PlayStation 5 and sees massive potential for the console's long-term lifespan, including various optimizations that'll make developers' lives much, much easier.

"Unreal Engine 5 is really a generational leap or more in technological capabilities. The hardware that Sony is absolutely phenomenal. Not only an unprecedented amount of graphics power but also a completely new storage architecture that blows most past architectures out of the water and is far ahead of even the state-of-the-art highest-end PCs you can buy," Sweeney said on a Summer Games Fest stream.

These words align with what we've been hearing so far from developers:

• Back in December, devs said the PlayStation 5 was the easiest console to work with
• In May 2020, devs said the PS5 had the best architecture in gaming history

Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 is due out by Holiday 2020. Check below for more details:

PlayStation 5 specs and details:

• Custom SoC with second-gen Navi GPU, Zen 2 CPU
• 8-Core, 16-thread Zen 2 CPU at 3.5GHz
• Navi 2X GPU with 36 CUs on RDNA 2 at 2.23GHz
• Ultra-fast 825GB 12-channel PCIe 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD with up to 9GB/sec speeds
• Two SKUs: Digital-only, and standard with a disc drive
• Support for 4K 120 Hz TVs
• Ray-tracing enabled
• 8K output support (for gaming)
• Plays PS4 games, BC is on a title-to-title basis
• Separate games that ship on BD-XL Blu-ray discs
• New controller with extensive haptic and tactile feedback