PlayStation is investing even deeper into the hardware and accessory side of its business, and ahead of this week's State of Play, it revealed all-new details for its upcoming monitor, speakers, and fight stick — all of which sport the expectant branding and colour scheme we’ve grown used to over the past console generation. All of these devices look perfectly fine, but it does feel like you’re paying for the brand name rather than overall quality.

I’ve long felt this way about PlayStation’s slew of peripherals, whether it be the DualSense Edge, Pulse headsets, or even the fancy faceplates you could buy for older consoles. All of them are a smidge pricey, while since the PS4 days, the console giant has gained quite the reputation for infamously shoddy peripherals like the flimsy microphone that came with the original PS4. It was like something you’d get from Poundland...

But I have to imagine a lot of mainstream consumers will see the PlayStation branding and assume it carries with it a level of quality. We get this from the PS5 console and many of its exclusive games, so why not a headset or a monitor? There’s also the matter of consumer convenience, where a brand name is going to feel like the natural decision instead of doing a lot of extensive research, because who has time for that?

Will The PlayStation Gaming Monitor Be Any Good?

Let’s break down the specifications of this monitor first. It features a 27-inch QHD IPS panel capable of outputting at 1440p resolution. You can play at 120hz using a PS5 or PS5 Pro with a variable refresh rate to boot, and this will increase to 240hz if you plan on using the monitor with your PC. HDR is also supported, which in the majority of displays in such a price range has become the industry standard. As for the price, this thing will run you $350 and so far is only planned to release in the US and Japan this August.

I’m surprised that the monitor is capped at 1440p, but considering it only comes in at 27 inches, it might not take proper advantage of a 4K picture like a larger television would.

As for the monitor’s physical attributes, it is quite a bulky beast with noticeable bezels on the edges alongside a black and white colour scheme that matches nicely with the overall line of PS5 products. You also have a cable management feature to support its extensive range of slots and a DualSense charging dock located at the bottom of the monitor.

This can then be pulled down and hidden depending on whether you’re using it or not. The lack of speakers is unfortunate, although I expect Sony expects you to purchase the PlayStation speakers set to launch alongside this monitor or simply use your own wired or wireless audio solution.

In the wider landscape of gaming monitors of this size and resolution, everything PlayStation brings to the table is par for the course, and little about its technical specs stand out or seem like an incredible deal. My housemate said it looks like a refurbished Dell monitor, an assessment both laughably harsh and right on the money.

People online have already begun digging into the overall specs and comparing it to similar monitors on the market right now with equal or superior offerings at lower price points. Excellent displays from AlienWare or MSI are viewed as some of the best on the market, or you could pay a tiny bit extra and pick up an OLED panel that guarantees superior picture quality. Still, Sony is Sony, and synchronicity will be a selling point.

And Should You Buy One?

Those who know where to look or aren’t console players looking to take their first steps into the world of PC will be able to find a better deal for a superior monitor elsewhere, but I don’t think PlayStation is expecting that demographic to pick up a product like this.

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I can picture a more mainstream or casual gamer like my brother picking up the PlayStation monitor and its accompanying speakers more than any of us here at TheGamer, or even most people reading this, because we know better. It isn’t fair to assume that knowledge of more casual players though, hence why Sony is actively pushing big products like this and knows they have a chance to be successful.

I’ll admit that as a passionate PlayStation fan, the monitor does interest me, but largely due to its overall aesthetic rather than its image quality. I already own superior gaming displays, while I doubt the upcoming speakers are going to output better than my existing sound bar either. Whether you should make the plunge later this month depends on exactly what kind of gamer you are, but I’d do a bit of extra research to make sure you’re getting the best deal.

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PS5

$450 $500 Save $50 Brand Sony Original Release Date November 12, 2020 Original MSRP (USD) Disc Edition: $499.99; Digital Edition: $399.99 Processor AMD Zen 2, 8-core / 16 threads, 3.5GHz $450 at Official Site Expand Collapse