With just over a month until the official launch of the PlayStation 5, Sony has started to open up a bit more about its highly anticipated console. New footages and details regarding the hardware have continued to come out over the past week including the revelation that the system not only remains cool after prolonged use, but the fan noise also remains quiet. PlayStation fans should be pretty happy with that admission considering the PS4 has often been compared to a jet engine for how loud the system can get. However, for all of the new technology packed under the hood of the PS5, it won't have one major audio feature on launch day.
In a new blog post, senior director of PS VR, eSports, Peripherals Marketing and Licensing Isabelle Tomatis discussed how the PS5 is planning to further immerse players inside of their favorite games. One element that the console will use to do this is through its Tempest 3D AudioTech. One way to really leverage this technology is through headphones, presenting sounds as though players are moving through them from various directions to match what is being seen on the screen.
Thankfully, PS5 players have plenty of options in order to take advantage of 3D audio. Tomatis confirmed that 3D audio is compatible with headphones that players have already through the USB connector in the console or from the 3.5mm headset jack in the DualSense controller. However, Sony also announced the Pulse 3D wireless headset, which aims to give players the best 3D audio experience as it was fully engineered to take advantage of the system's capabilities.
Towards the end of the post, Tomatis also provided an update on virtual surround sound for those who would rather use their TVs speakers. Unfortunately, this feature won't be available at launch, its a feature that is currently being worked on for a future update. No timetable was given as to when players can expect it.
In addition to the lack of TV speaker virtual surround sound, not every game will utilize 3D audio. Sony has made it clear that its first party studios will be use the feature including most major launch window games like Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Destruction AllStars, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Astro's Playroom, Demon’s Souls, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. While a couple 2021 releases like Horizon: Forbidden West and Resident Evil: Village were also confirmed, 3D audio ultimately doesn't appear to be a mandatory setting and instead is something that developers will have to opt into.
The PS5 releases November 12.
Source: PlayStation Blog