Sony removes 8K logo from retail PlayStation 5 packaging

Shawn Knight

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In brief: Sony has removed the 8K logo from retail PlayStation 5 packaging, seemingly walking back the notion that its current-gen gaming console will ever be able to output in the high-res standard. Meanwhile, the possibility of a PS5 Pro arriving as soon as late this year becomes ever stronger.

When Sony launched the PlayStation 5 in late 2020, an accompanying FAQ noted the console was compatible with 8K displays. Sony further said that after a future system software update, the system would be able to output resolutions up to 8K once content was available.

To date, only one game – The Touryst – renders internally at 8K 60 frames per second. While the Minecraft-style game looks great, the catch here is that the PlayStation still does not support 8K output. In the case of The Touryst, the 8K rendering ends up being sampled down to 4K.

At some point earlier this year, Sony quietly removed the 8K badge from new PlayStation 5 retail packaging. Using the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, it appears the change took place in the January – February timeframe (at least, for the Slim model that comes bundled with Spider-Man 2). Sony has yet to publicly comment on the matter.

Several retailers are still using images of the older boxes on their product pages.

The magnitude of the situation largely depends on who you ask. Advertising future support for a feature then seemingly going back on your word is sure to rub some users the wrong way, but it could also be argued that Sony was banking on 8K tech being further along at this stage of the game. Still, what is the harm in going ahead and pushing out an update to enable 8K output? Even if only one game ever supports it, at least you delivered on your promise.

Some believe Sony is likely saving 8K output for the PlayStation 5 Pro, a revised version of the console expected to arrive sometime this fall. 8K displays are still relatively rare and expensive, and it could be several more years before they become mainstream.

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Just another thing to remind consumers how half-baked the PS5 was at launch...

I hope people do take them to court (class action) for the blatant false advertising, companies need to stop doing this...
 
I don't think they removed the 8K logo from PS5 because they're going to market the PS5 Pro as 8K... I think they removed it because no one wants 8K TVs so the market for 8K is basically non-existent. If there was any real amount of consumer interest in 8K, Sony would keep marketing it and push out a few 8K 2D indie games here and there. As such I suspect the PS5 Pro won't be marketed as an 8K machine either.
 
Just another thing to remind consumers how half-baked the PS5 was at launch...

I hope people do take them to court (class action) for the blatant false advertising, companies need to stop doing this...
ps5 renders 8k without issues. if you complain about false advertising look at 4k advertisement on ps5 or xsx. nearly no game renders 4k 120hz... but you will find it on all the boxes.
 
renders. not outputing. my argument is fine, you are putting a straw man here.
If it can't output at 8k, it can't do 8k. Period.

XBSX can output at 8k, which is more than the PS5. Thanks for that nice (wrong) whataboutism you shared.
 
It can barely run in 4k let alone 8k lol
companies seem to have fun playing fast and loose with resolutions these days
 
Any reason it's needed? I find 4K super sharp and super immersive, and quite power hungry enough at 4K/120. And I was NOT one of those naysayers that said "why do we need 4K?" I went to 4K as soon as I could and "suffered" at 30-40fps in the name of sharpness and immersion. Maybe I'm just getting old, but the next change I'd make would not be to 8K at 4 times the power, but getting stable 4K/120 at reasonable power/heat. But, I guess that's not marketable in the world of bigger, better, faster...
 
"Still, what is the harm in going ahead and pushing out an update to enable 8K output?"

The "harm" is that it's not physically possible. The limited HDMI output bandwidth of the PS5 hardware means that 8K 60 FPS is not possible at all, and 8K 30 FPS must be either SDR or use chroma subsampling. Chroma subsampling means 2/3 of the signal is half the resolution of 8K, so that's not actually 8K. 8K 30 FPS SDR is, I suppose, *technically* 8K but it's not what anyone would have in mind when buying an 8K TV.

There's nothing anybody can do about it; writing "8K" on the box was simply a lie all along.
 
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