Sony's PS5 will officially be released on November 12 in the US and November 19 in the UK

One notable feature is that PS5 games will not be region-locked This means that games purchased in the US or Japan can be played on a PS5 in the UK or Europe This is a small thing on the surface, but one that helps streamline the entire process of purchasing a physical copy of a game

Digital downloads are becoming increasingly popular, but can be more expensive than purchasing a physical copy of a game in a real-world store With this in mind, obtaining a physical copy of a game may be more cost-effective than downloading Also, for those with slow Internet connections, a physical game may be the only way to get the game up and running without having to wait a long time

Thus, having games that are not region-locked is a boon for those eager to purchase physical copies of PlayStation games This was also the case with the PS4, so it is good to see Sony carrying this over to the PS5

This will also benefit those who like to import games from other countries that are not available in their country of residence In short, this is a little feature to further democratize console gaming

We had hoped that Sony would continue this approach to PlayStation games by enhancing the backward compatibility of the PS5, which can only play PS4 games However, this does not appear to be the case, as Sony seems to be very focused on the next-generation console experience Microsoft's Xbox Series X, on the other hand, seems to be taking the approach of one Xbox console to rule them all, and the Series X will play games from all generations of the Xbox dating back to the first console in 2001