After subverting all the rumors regarding the launch of another VR model, PlayStation has just recently announced the production of the latest line in VR technology, the PS VR2. Before such an admission, rumors about the supposed development were waved off as false by the populace.
Ironically, in the end, the rumor people had dismissed turned out to be true. Such an occurrence is not rare in the gaming community, and especially not in a community as large as the PlayStation one. However, it seems that gaming rumors turn out to be nothing more than hearsay more often than not.
PS5 October Release Date
In May 2020, Sony Interactive Entertainment's Recruit Career posted signup for applications with one of the guidelines reading "PlayStation 5, which will be released in October 2020." This initially cause quite a stir in the community, as the date had lined up with what a lot of people were already assuming would be the official release.
Though surprisingly, it would be Sony themselves who came to dissuade those rumors. After the initial news came to their view, they would release a statement disproving the "leak." As it turned out, the "leak" was simply an error on the recruitment site. Later it would be revealed that the actual release date for the PS5 was November 12, 2020.
The PS5's Rumored Design
The moment the PS5 was announced to have been in production, the internet was already cluttered with images of what people thought the new console would look like. And some of these images people claimed to have been real. However, the designs they "leaked" turned out to be completely inaccurate by the time the design was officially released.
Many attribute the success of the PS5 as one of the best-selling consoles of all time to its innovative design. Compared to the "leaks" of the sleek retro, 90s-like design, the PS5 ended up turning out to be a large and bulky futuristic-looking model.
Price Of The PS5
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The PS5 promised a lot of things, and as such people were beginning to wonder how much would such a legendary item as Sony had claimed it to be would cost. People guessed it'd cost the same as a PS4 when it first released, and others guessed it would be an estimated $800.
Sony in the end revealed the price of the device quite a way before the actual release, with the price being $500. It is $100 more than what the PS4 had been when it was first released. Thankfully this news came to relieve quite a few speculative, though $500 is nothing to scoff at either.
Game Demos
Video game demos have been a prevalent thing in the past for gamers to determine whether they should buy a game after getting a taste of it. Though that practice has seemed to have faded in the modern era, as practically any new game is released without a demo for players to gauge.
Before the PS5 was released, however, a rumor had spread from an unverified Twitter user that demos would be available to play without the need for downloading. While the rumor was suspicious thanks to it being from a questionable source, many users believed it despite everything. Though the moment the console made it to people's homes, that rumor was immediately declared false.
The Startup Sequence
Eager to be the first to have some sort of news on the highly anticipated PS5, people began resorting to just making stuff up. Some users in particular went the extra mile in their lies and dedicated time to creating a false startup sequence for deceiving others. Some were convincing, others not so much.
Many turned out to be about as vibrant as the official PlayStation 5 controller colors, as some featured ludicrous animations or big splashes of colors. Though every "leak" had one point that made each of them uncredible. And that was the fact that every video "leak" stayed posted online without Sony ever removing them.
PS5 Handheld Mode
In the midst of the Nintendo Switch craze, rumors started surfacing that the PS5 would feature a handheld mode to compete in the suddenly popular market. As some best first-person shooter games can even be run on the switch. This, of course, turned out to be completely false.
First, there was no basis for this rumor as the only claim that people had was that they just wanted to compete. Such a move would be too risky as a conversion in format would disinterest Sony's mostly console fans. Other than that it would have added more complications to the development process if they still wanted to meet their goal of making the most powerful console.
State Of Play Schedule
May 2022, several social media sites were filled with posts regarding a leaked list of the games that would be showcased at the State Of Play on June 2. Some of these posts were identical in content, others were slightly modified to feature fake listings just for the sake of comedy.
Ultimately the list was just full of educated guesses or completely made-up releases. Some users posted these leaks with the intention of making light of the situation, and others posted with the intention of misleading expecting fans. Even as the internet kept believing the "leak", in the actual presentation the posts were proven untrue.
Rumors Of Sequels
PlayStation exclusive series InFamous and Sly Cooper were rumored around July 2022 to be receiving continuations or sequels. The places these two titles hold in the hearts of gamers are immense as they are some of the earliest titles users nowadays recognize the most when talking about PlayStation's past.
However, these rumors were put to rest when Sucker Punch Productions, developers behind the 2 series, put out an announcement themselves disproving any claims. In their words, they had no plans to produce work relating to any of the two series, as they were focused on newer developments. Though they did add a message stating their love of the aforementioned series.
Fake Subscription Services
Recently PlayStation has announced and implemented several new subscription-based services to push PlayStation users into joining one of their many memberships. While some are overjoyed with the prospects of new features, other users are dissatisfied and claim Sony is asking for exuberant prices.
While the PS5 is home to the most stunning games of 2022, the subscriptions are questionable. Even then this "leak" is blatantly fake, titled "PlayStation Plus Neo". It comprises an image of a monitor with prices listed in several tiers, the highest being $60 every 3 months. It promises to stream every PS console up to the 3rd and host "free" game demos. This is odd considering a demo is something players play before buying a game.
No 4k Feature
Before the release of the PS5, one user had spread a rumor regarding the capabilities of the PS5. They claimed that the console would be incapable of running games at 4k 60fps in a smooth and playable manner. Such a rumor was met with strong criticism from users who either didn't want to believe it to be true or those who knew the console's abilities just by its components.
As the discussion began to heat up, one game developer would weigh in. A Quantnum Error developer tweeted that in their tests the system was more than capable of meeting the benchmark. In fact, they even went on to claim that it reached such heights when the game they were working with was still unoptimized, insinuating it could run even better when it was fully finished.