It’s amazing what can be done via updates these days, as Sony reveals the cooling fan on the upcoming PlayStation 5 will be continually optimised using online patches.
The General Manager of Sony’s product design and hardware division, Yasuhiro Ootori was interviewed by 4Gamer recently. During the interview, Ootori was asked about the updates on the soon-to-be-released console and he revealed the tech-giant’s ambitious plans, explaining how the system’s accelerated processing unit (APU) will use an on-board temperature sensor.
“Various games will be released in the future, and the data on the APU’s behaviour in each game will be collected,” he told the gaming publication. “We have a plan to optimise fan control based on this data.”
During the recent teardown video for the PS5, Ootari – who hosted the showcase – showed off the system’s double-sided cooling fan, revealing the console will feature a total of 4 sensors to help with temperature regulation. He also discussed the size of the fan and spoke about the different options regarding the cooling system, detailing why the company decided to choose the design they did.
“It was possible to develop the PlayStation 5 to be smaller. For example, by implementing two cooling fans – one for side A and one for side B – the PlayStation 5 size would have been reduced.”
Despite the reduction in size, Ootari said the cost of installing two fans would have meant the price of the console increased, while it would also make controlling the system’s overall cooling ability much more difficult. With those potential pitfalls in mind, he said the decision was made to use the double-sided fan instead.
“With these additional obstacles in mind, we decided to cool both sides of the main board with one large fan,” he confirmed.
The brand-new PlayStation is set for release in the UK on November 19 and will be priced around £450, with the digital-only version around £100 cheaper.