A few weeks ago, rumors cropped about saying that the PS5 internal storage space would only be 664GB, with the console OS reserving nearly 20% of the already small 825GB SSD. The rumors came thanks to grainy pictures alleged to be leaked images of the PS5 UI. At the time, these images were suspect and subject to criticism as “another fake leak,” but the recent official PS5 UI reveal puts them in a new light.
The previously suspect series of images actually match up perfectly with what was shown in the PS5 UI reveal video, including the profile selection screen and the widgets along the bottom of the Control Center (minus ones not present in the dev kit, like music, etc.). These similarities were pointed out in a video by YouTuber YongYea, lending more credibility to the one image in the series purporting to show usable PS5 storage space at only 664GB.
It’s common practice for formatted hard drives to reserve a certain amount of space for the OS and future updates. You’ll never have the full advertised size of any hard drive or SSD available to you. Throughout the year, a lot of people questioned Sony’s announcement that the PS5 SSD was 825GB. Was that after formatting? Before the OS? Is it actually a 1TB drive with 825GB of usable space available to players? We know for certain now that the base size is definitely 825GB, before formatting and reservations. Sony still isn’t talking about how much space will be usable storage, but this leak seems to show it’s not going to be a lot.
One thing to remember is that the PS5 storage space leak comes from a dev kit. YongYea also notes that Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry mentioned only seeing 620GB available on dev kits, so the number could be variable and changing. Sony could be keeping quiet on this point as they work to optimize the usable storage space on the SSD before committing to a final number. Either way, storage space on the PS5 is likely to go fast as games continue to exceed 50GB in size, even for disc-based game installs. Off-the-shelf SSD expansion options will be available with Sony’s approval, but depending on the size, it’s going to set players back another couple hundred dollars. Microsoft’s proprietary memory expansion cards for the Xbox Series X will run $220 for a 1TB option. Sony’s wider SSD compatibility should make storage options cheaper, but not by much.
Would 664GB of PS5 internal storage be enough for you? How quickly do you expect to have to pick up an expansion SSD?
[Via: VGC]
