Sony has confirmed that PS5 games will not be playable from all external hard drives. The company revealed more information about thePS5’s storagein a new video today, where it also confirmed the console’s specs.
A report by Digital Foundry reveals that while NVMe PC drives will work with thePS5, those that are being sold now are slower than the PS5’s SSD. Sony will have to check these drives to verify that they will work properly with the PS5, though it’s unclear when fans will be able to buy them.
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In comparison, theXbox Series X uses SSD cardsthat can slot into the back of the console. The cards look okay, but it seems that they are the only option for Xbox Series X players who want to get more storage space in the console and without an external drive. The PS5 may not have that problem if it supports SSDs not sold by Sony, but players may have to wait longer for them.
Another issue is that only some games can be played from external hard drives. ThePS5 is backward compatible with some PS4 games, though the PS4 allows games to be installed and played from an external hard drive. Fans can store PS5 games on an external hard drive, but not play them. This likely means that anyone who has filled up their PS5’s SSD may have to move games around to play them.
This may not be a huge issue, as one of the PS5’s specs enable it to move around data very quickly. The console may havefewer teraflops than the Xbox Series X, but developers think that this SSD speed could be more important. The PS5 will also be able to load large games quickly, so it probably won’t be difficult to move games from an external hard drive.
Gamers may be surprised with storage being one of the main reasons to buy a PS5 or an Xbox Series X. Microsoft has revealed how theXbox Series X Quick Resume feature uses its SSD, while the PS5 will offer huge games without loading screens. Price and games will be important, but it seems that Sony and Microsoft also want fans to think about storage.
ThePS5remains planned for release in Holiday 2020.
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