- The PlayStation 5, Sony's next-generation game console that's deep in production, is scheduled to launch during the 2020 holiday season.
- Since revealing the console last April in an interview with Wired, Sony has said very little about it. That was expected to change on Wednesday, March 18 in a "deep dive" video promoted by Sony.
- Instead, the video largely focused on technical components of the console, and relied heavily on jargon. The response on social media, gathered under the trending "#PS5Reveal" hashtag, has been overwhelmingly negative.
- Amazingly, when Sony's "deep dive" video concluded, viewers still had no idea what the new console actually looks like.
- "That was boring as hell and you guys didn't bother [to] show us the console," one Twitter user said. "Thanks for wasting my time."
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Sony's PlayStation 4 is a smash-hit console, with over 100 million units sold and dozens of excellent games. It's Sony's second-best selling game console of all time, behind only the PlayStation 2. The PlayStation brand is stronger than ever, and millions of fans are anxiously awaiting the next-generation PlayStation console.
Anticipation for Sony's upcoming PlayStation 5 — the PlayStation 4's successor that's scheduled to launch this holiday season — is reaching a fever pitch.
But, other than a few blips like revealing the logo, Sony has been notoriously quiet about its next-generation game console. That was all expected to change this afternoon, as Sony teased earlier this week that a "deep dive" video into the PlayStation 5 was on the way.
The deep dive video did indeed debut this afternoon, but it wasn't quite what people expected from an event that Sony described as a look into how the PlayStation 5 "will shape the future of games."
The problems started early, when viewers couldn't tell whether or not the video's audience was real.
"I know why there's no actual audience," one Twitter user said, "But why did they decide to use Shadow Ghosts instead?"
Others compared the bizarre framing of the video to the cult-classic TV show "Mystery Science Theater 3000."
Tweet Embed://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1240321245175934977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Anybody catch the #PS5Reveal conference? pic.twitter.com/U1L3xAg1Uf
On Twitter, where the hashtag #PS5Reveal was trending, the vast majority of the "Top" posts were tweets expressing frustration, anger, and surprise:
Tweet Embed://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1240315806837178368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Everyone watching the #PS5Reveal pic.twitter.com/omqw2ZlPdiTweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1240321562194128897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
I watched 50 minutes of this dude give an asmr presentation on how ssds work for nothing #PS5Reveal pic.twitter.com/K3lm8C9wztTweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1240312999417651200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This #PS5Reveal pic.twitter.com/OrqfjTzM3rTweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1240321598294568962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
That's it!!?? That's all you give us no system reveal no design none of that???? #PS5Reveal pic.twitter.com/U1Xk1A9QXg
Sony has repeatedly discussed the PlayStation 5 without showing what the console looks like, how it works, or any games it will play. For some viewers of the deep dive video, there was an expectation that Sony would finally showcase some of those details.
Instead, PlayStation 5 lead architect Mark Cerny spent much of the hour spelling out highly-technical details about how the console functions on a technical level.
Tweet Embed://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1240322229742731266?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Me trying to understand what's being explained at the #PS5Reveal pic.twitter.com/1ztEV5PqoN
He spoke about the console's storage system (a solid-state drive) and how quickly it's able to transfer data. He spoke about the type of processing unit powering the PlayStation 5. And he spoke about the company's new approach to audio design.
There were technical slides, and the big picture vision of the PlayStation 5 was laid bare, but few concrete details for interested fans were provided.
He didn't speak about games, or show the hardware, or do any of the other stuff normally associated with revealing a new, highly-anticipated game console.
In fact, viewers of Sony's "deep dive" were left without any idea about what the new console looks like. Sony never actually showed it.
The negative response wasn't exclusive to Twitter — the YouTube video's chat was full of similarly frustrated viewers:
Tweet Embed://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1240310259039850496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
#PS5Reveal LMAOOOOO THE CHAT 😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/2N410iKHiA
You can watch the full video from PlayStation, titled "The Road to PS5," right here:
Youtube Embed://www.youtube.com/embed/ph8LyNIT9sg
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See Also:
- The 10 most important details we already know about the PlayStation 5, Sony's next-generation video game console arriving this year
- The PlayStation 5 is finally getting detailed on March 18
- The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are both scheduled to arrive in 2020. Here's how they stack up.
SEE ALSO: The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are both scheduled to arrive in 2020. Here's how they stack up.