The 'PS5' That Blew Away NO Japan... What Makes It So Attractive?

Exclusive Games Like 'Final Fantasy 16' Also Presented
Controller Changed for Enhanced Game Immersion

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] Sony's next-generation console game machine, the 'PlayStation 5' (PS5), sold out immediately after starting pre-orders in Korea, drawing attention to the appeal of the PS5. The sell-out situation of the PS5 has even raised concerns about a selective boycott of Japanese products.

According to the industry on the 3rd, Sony Interactive Entertainment plans to supply additional quantities of the PS5, which experienced a shortage during pre-orders. Sony Interactive Entertainment stated on its official Twitter, "We plan to supply more PS5 units for pre-orders," adding, "More PS5 units will be available by the end of this year."

On the 18th of last month, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducted pre-orders for the PS5 in the first global sales countries including Korea, the United States, Japan, and Europe. However, during the pre-order process worldwide, server crashes and sell-out chaos caused consumer dissatisfaction.

In Korea, Sony Interactive Entertainment Korea started PS5 pre-orders from 12 PM on the 18th of last month, but a sell-out occurred in less than an hour. By 1 PM that day, online and offline affiliated shopping malls selling the PS5 announced that the PS5 was sold out.

The PS5 pre-orders were conducted at 11 online shopping malls including Homeplus, Hi-Mart, SSG.com, and Toys "R" Us, as well as 30 offline stores such as PS Partner Shops. Most online shopping malls were difficult to access around the start time of the pre-orders, and some malls were completely disconnected.

At some sales locations, notices stating "Pre-orders have been postponed due to internal circumstances" were posted before the pre-order start, but within 10 minutes, notices that pre-orders had resumed were posted again, causing confusion.

The PS5, which has been stirring console enthusiasts' hearts even before its official release, is the first new console game machine released in 7 years since the 'PlayStation 4' (PS4). To support 4K high-definition graphics, it applies an AMD 'Zen 2'-based central processing unit (CPU) and an 'RDNA2' graphics processor (GPU) capable of 10.3 trillion calculations per second. It also features an ultra-high-speed SSD that supports fast loading, making data reading much faster than the PS4.

In particular, the PS5 focuses on game content. Sony Interactive Entertainment is expected to introduce popular console games such as 'Final Fantasy 16,' 'Ratchet & Clank,' 'God of War Ragnarok,' 'Horizon Forbidden West,' and 'Spider-Man' alongside the PS5. To enhance immersion, the game controller has been completely redesigned for the first time in 25 years. It applies 'haptic feedback,' allowing players to feel even subtle in-game movements through their hands.

Meanwhile, the PS5 is scheduled for official release on November 12. In Korea, the standard version of the PS5 with a Blu-ray disc drive is priced at 628,000 KRW, and the digital edition version without a disc drive is priced at 498,000 KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.