Sony Claims PS5 Is The 'World's Fastest Console' In Job Post

We know Sony is aiming to make the PlayStation 5 incredibly powerful, but just how much horsepower will the company's next generation console be packing? According to a new job listed by the company, there won't be another system that can match the PS5.

In the job post, which is for a Senior Cloud Engineering Manager, Sony states that candidate chosen will be "one of the leaders of an elite team that is super excited to launch the upcoming world's fastest console(PS5) in 2020." That's right: Sony is calling the PlayStation 5 the "world's fastest console." And that's a pretty remarkable claim if you think about it. For starters, it tells you a bit about how Sony could market the machine, and that the company might focus more on processing speed in order to differentiate itself from Project Scarlett.

Not only that, but the post is essentially Sony calling its shot with the PlayStation 5 in terms of how it thinks the console will stack up against Microsoft's system. Think about it: Sony is confidently stating that the PlayStation 5 is the "world's fastest," even though we don't have any details about Project Scarlett at all. Sony already believes the PS5 has higher clock speeds, so this news may be just as interesting for Xbox fans as it is for PlayStation fans. It could mean Project Scarlett isn't quite as fast as the PS5, but could potentially have advantages in other areas.

And interestingly enough — thanks to the folks at Digital Foundry – we got some more information about which processors the PlayStation 5 could have under the hood. So let's talk a bit about that next.

First off, allow us to declare our unabashed love for Digital Foundry. The outlet dives deep into the technical capabilities of both PCs and consoles, and does so in the nerdiest way possible. A few days back, Digital Foundry took a good, hard look at processors that are suspected to be powering the PlayStation 5, and concluded that we could be getting a machine that's at least two times more powerful than an Xbox One X.

The processor in the PlayStation 5 will reportedly have three modes that enable it to run at three different speeds: 2 GHz, 911 MHz, and 800 MHz. The 2 GHz mode would be used for games built specifically for the PlayStation 5, allowing them to tap into every bit of the extra power the new machine will provide. The 911 MHz mode would be used for PlayStation 4 Pro titles: games that are designed to take advantage of the PS4 Pro hardware, but can still run on a base PS4 if need be. And finally, the 800 MHz mode would be for normal PlayStation 4 titles that were never enhanced for PlayStation 4 Pro.

Combine all that with what's been confirmed about the PS5's chip — that it'll come decked out with 8 cores and 16 threads — and you have a machine that can play last generation games while also boasting enough power for next generation experiences. And if you think Xbox One X games look good and run well now, imagine something that's twice as capable. It's kind of exciting, isn't it?

We seriously cannot wait to get our hands on a PlayStation 5. Unfortunately, we don't have a solid release date for the system. What we do have, though, is an idea of when it might be announced, and when it might launch.

Judging by past console launches, we think we might get our first look at the PlayStation 5 sometime this spring, either before E3 2020 or at the conference itself. That would make a lot of sense, as we typically get an enormous amount of video game news at E3 and in the weeks before and after the event, and you have to imagine that some of the titles talked about will be showing up on Sony's new machine.

A reveal in May or June 2020 would put the console on everyone's radars, and give Sony several months to drum up hype for the PlayStation 5's launch in Holiday 2020. And as for that launch? Some outlets have been reporting that the PlayStation 5 could arrive as late as December 2020, which would definitely be a shift from the typical November launches we've seen for past PlayStation consoles.

Will any of these reports or speculative stories be proven out? We'll likely have to wait until Spring 2020 to learn more.