For months, we’ve been wondering when we’d finally have a PS5 in our own homes. The answer, as it turns out, is today.
Sony has started to distribute consoles to journalists and influencers around the world today and, with it finally in hand, we can start to answer some key questions – like, for example, what comes inside the box?
As it turns out, the answer is pretty simple: inside the box you get the console, a wireless controller, the base, an HDMI cable that’s almost definitely HDMI 2.1-compliant, plus the power cord, a USB-C-to-USB-A cable to charge the DualSense controller, and the user manual / warranty info.
You’ll also, technically, get one game inside the box – that’s Astro’s Playroom that comes pre-installed on every PlayStation 5 console.
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Can't wait to share some #PS5 impressions with everyone - but for today, we'll have to settle for the outside of the box. More to come on @TechRadar soon, though! (Small detail: check out the last photo for the content list inside the box.) pic.twitter.com/tOcU1MBJQjOctober 23, 2020
The PS5 box, plain and simple
The outside of the box isn’t likely to blow you away, as it lacks any screenshots of next-gen games or cool, cutting-edge visuals, but it does do its job of providing key information: for example, it reaffirms that we’re getting 825GB of storage space on the console itself instead of a full 1TB, and the PS5 box talks about the 3D Audio technology in passing detail.
On the back you’ll see snippets of info on the new SSD and custom CPU, as well as the PS5 backward compatibility with PS4 games after a system update.
On the front of the box there’s the technical PS5 specs we already knew: the console will be capable of 8K, 4K/120 and HDR output, though it doesn't feel the need to mention ray-tracing anywhere on the box, which is interesting.
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We’ll have to wait and see how that translates to real-world testing, but for now it will suffice to say that those are some promising specs. We’ll be putting both the PS5 and Xbox Series X through their paces over the next few weeks and will have a full Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and then the PS5 review for you before the consoles launch on November 10 and November 12, respectively.
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Nick Pino is Managing Editor, TV and AV for TechRadar's sister site, Tom's Guide. Previously, he was the Senior Editor of Home Entertainment at TechRadar, covering TVs, headphones, speakers, video games, VR and streaming devices. He's also written for GamesRadar+, Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer and other outlets over the last decade, and he has a degree in computer science he's not using if anyone wants it.