PS5 is bigger so it will stay cooler, PlayStation VP confirms

(Image credit: Sony PlayStation)

It looks like PS5 is going to be a big console, and the main reason it needs all that space is heat.

Matt MacLaurin is the vice president of user experience design at PlayStation, and he's been responding to comments about the PS5 reveal on his LinkedIn page (as spotted by VG247). While MacLaurin isn't divulging any big shockers like the PS5 price, he has been willing to give some extra context to the console reveal that Sony did at the PS5 Future of Gaming event last week.

One commenter asked why PS5 needed to be "bigger and bulkier" than PS4. "Thermals," MacLaurin answered. "This gen is little supercomputers. While the 7nm process delivers amazing heat performance for the power, the power is very extreme."

MacLaurin's comments about "the 7nm process" refers to the ever-shrinking semiconductor technology that allows tech companies to fit higher performing components into the same amount of space. The other half of the equation is making sure those new components don't overheat. If your PS4 has ever started to sound like a bayou airboat, you know that ventilation has been a problem for Sony's current generation.

Aside from being a big fella, PS5 also has a distinct look about it. MacLaurin was willing to share some thoughts about that too in response to commenters.

"I understand it's not for everyone, but no good art is," Maclaurin said. "Still, I think it's refined enough to tuck away quietly. The editions are going to be lit."

Sony wants to "emphasize value as opposed to price" for the PS5, so making it more of an art object is a decent start.

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.

Latest in PS5
Khazan holding a red glowing sword during the upcoming PS5 game, The First Berserker: Khazan.
"Games are meant to be engaging, not exhausting": Lead dev on promising Soulslike RPG pushes balanced difficulty because "if stress keeps piling up without relief, players will eventually want to quit"
Deep Rock Galactic
Deep Rock Galactic roguelike dev says innovation for innovation's sake is too expensive to survive: "We're a studio of 50 people with bills to pay"
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe assassinating target with Tanto skill
Assassin's Creed Shadows' expert difficulty looks like the best way to play since it does way more than just dial up enemy HP bars
Silent Hill f key art showing the main character holding a pipe
Silent Hill f trailer suggests Konami’s newest nightmare will bring back an iconic weapon central to every game in the franchise
Silent Hill f
"What if we […] make it 100% Japanese?": Silent Hill f producer worried Konami's horror series was "starting to feel too westernized"
Concept art of the Arkavir, a bulky alien race from Exodus with sharp and scaley skin.
Mass Effect veteran's new sci-fi RPG Exodus introduces an alien race, and they're so hardcore they put the Krogans to shame
Latest in News
First Berserker: Khazan screenshot showing two characters engaged in battle
Compare it to FromSoftware all you want, but the devs on this extremely promising hardcore action RPG say they're making "more than just a Soulslike"
Old School RuneScape Smite collab
MMO scholar puts a $500 bounty on old versions of RuneScape as part of a community archive project: "You might have ALL of the game's lost versions!"
Khazan holding a red glowing sword during the upcoming PS5 game, The First Berserker: Khazan.
"Games are meant to be engaging, not exhausting": Lead dev on promising Soulslike RPG pushes balanced difficulty because "if stress keeps piling up without relief, players will eventually want to quit"
A meeting inside one of Chrono Cross' cathedrals
There's never been a better time to play Chrono Trigger than on its 30th anniversary as the all-time JRPG great is just $4 in Steam Spring Sale
The Surrender
The Boys star's new horror movie gets great first reactions calling it "truly terrifying" featuring some of the "best performances" of 2025 so far
Ender Magnolia screenshot showing a spirit shooting at a monster enemy
One of the best new Metroidvanias just got a huge update with New Game+ and heaps more content like a boss rush mode