It’s the second week of March and Sony still hasn’t announced anything about the new PlayStation 5, aside from all the vague announcements the company made last year.

Yes, we know what kind of CPU and GPU to expect from the PS5, we know it’ll have a super-fast SSD, and that the new DualShock 5 controller is getting much better feedback than before.

But the console’s most important features are still secret, as Sony said after CES a couple of months ago. The design is also missing-in-action, even though Microsoft revealed its Xbox Series X design some three months ago.

If it weren’t for the coronavirus, we’d have no reason to grow anxious about this particular Sony announcement. But the coronavirus spread is the most important thing happening in the world right now, and it could have a huge impact on the PS5 launch as well.

Sony canceled three gaming events so far, two because of the outbreak (PAX East and GDC) and one well before the world started worrying about the virus’s spread (E3). It’s currently unclear when or where Sony will be able to hold a proper PS5 launch event.

Meanwhile, Microsoft a few weeks ago released almost a full spec sheet for the new Xbox, keeping just one key detail secret. That hasn’t stopped the PS5 leaks from popping up online, and the latest one teases insane specs for the PS5.

Before we get into it, I’ll remind you that it’s still all a rumor, so we can’t verify any of it, no matter how much sense it would make, or how good it sounds on paper. Moreover, the leak contains a detail that can’t come true any longer.

The anonymous leaker in question took to 4chan last week to say the PS5 would be announced on March 3rd. That date has passed without Sony making any sort of PlayStation 5 announcement.

But what if the leaker had only the announcement date wrong? After all, it’s entirely possible that Sony had plans to make an announcement on the 3rd but then postponed it in light of the outbreak. The leaker in question listed the purported specs of the PS5, and they’re still worth checking out:

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13.3TF Custom RDNA 2 GPU @ 1.7GHZ with 60 Compute Units

AMD Zen2 8 core @ 3.4 GHZ (Sony is working on boosting to 3.7GHZ)

RAM 16GB GDDR6 + 4GB DDR4

[email protected]/S @ 1TB

Dedicated RT and 3D Audio cores

565GB Bandwidth

Full digital backward compatibility with every PlayStation console and handheld for a library of 1000’s of games on day 1

Enhanced Dual Shock 5 with haptic triggers, heartbeat monitors and built-in microphone

PlayStation AI assistant that allows you to change games create parties and more with voice commands

Wishful thinking, you might say, and that’d be true. Also true is the fact that everything in this leak makes sense. We’ve known the core specs all along, so all we need are the specifics.

How much RAM, how much storage, and what are the exact clock speeds of the CPU and GPU? That’s what we want from Sony, and that’s what this leaker might’ve delivered.

Moreover, the leaker listed backward compatibility support for every PlayStation game ever, which is in line with what other leaks suggested despite sounding too good to be true.

Yes, some PS1 games might be remastered for the PS5, but not all of them.

The DualShock 5’s new haptic powers have already been confirmed, while the heart rate sensor and microphone support were described in new Sony patents.

Similarly, the PlayStation AI assistant tech is featured in several new Sony patents. But that’s not enough to confirm the PS5 will have all these awesome features.

The leaker also said the retail price is $499, and reiterated the “holiday 2020” release date. Sony is yet to confirm the PS5’s price but that $499 seems to be the sweet spot for the console.

As for the launch timeframe, Sony did mention the 2020 holiday season a few times, though everything is up in the air right now due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

bgr.com