New PS5 Ad Sails Right Off The Edge Of The Earth

Sony has released its newest TV ad for the PlayStation 5, just ahead of a planned event on September 16 where we may hear more hardware details. Like the first PS5 TV ad, it eschews game footage or hardware specs in favor of dramatic imagery to convey a mood.

This time, the feeling is boundless exploration and possibilities. It features a rickety boat venturing into an unknown light, and being joined by other travelers from all sorts of time periods and realities. Eventually the fleet of travelers ventures right off the edge of the world and into the cosmos, so the ad is appropriately called "The Edge."

"It's really just talking about who we are as a brand and exciting and thrilling our fans," PlayStation marketing head Eric Lempel told Variety. "We want to excite and thrill you. We want to show them a path to the mysterious unknown… what you're seeing is them coming to the edge and then going beyond. And really, that's what we're trying to signal here. It's not about the features. It's a brand spot."

Lempel also said that we'll see games enter the campaigns soon. This ad doesn't specifically brand itself as related to PlayStation 5. Lempel also addressed how the coronavirus pandemic has shifted the way Sony introduces its new hardware to consumers.

"Normally, when we go into market with a new console--and we don't do that often, it might be once every six or seven years--we like to give people the opportunity to touch it, to see it with their own eyes, to play around with it," Lempel said. "I like where we're going with our advertising and I like what we're conveying, but you really won't get the full experience until you touch it. That's been an incredible challenge, so we have pivoted some of our communication to really try to strongly evoke the feelings you'll get from using the console, and that was what our first spot was all about."

Sony has teased a PS5 Showcase event for Wednesday, September 16 at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET. Sony has promised a new look at some of the PS5 lineup, but we also might finally get details on the release date and price for the hardware itself.