PlayStation 5 wait seems nearly over as stores start gearing up, some PS4 games get new PS5 labels, and Sony's PAX pantomime fuels rumors

It has been a busy week for Sony PlayStation 5 rumors, no doubt spurred on by the numerous Microsoft-related revelations about its Xbox Series consoles. While Sony has avoided rising to the bait by revealing the prices and exact launch date for the PS5, there have been more subtle changes going on that have been noticed by the console’s legions of fans. For instance, marketing material for retail stores promoting the next-gen console has been spotted in countries like Australia and the Netherlands, which certainly shows the world is gearing up for the PS5.

Game publishers have also been preparing for the arrival of the PlayStation 5, with an innocuous but important label now appearing on certain current-gen titles. The little blue label simply states “PS5 Upgrade Available”, and it will indicate to buyers of a cross-gen game that there will be a method of playing the title on the next-gen console, although the particular method (free/via subscription/one-off payment) will apparently depend on the publisher.

Retail marketing material and small changes on game boxes might not be enough to suggest a PS5 event is finally incoming, but Sony’s PAX pantomime certainly does. The company’s attendance was soon noticed, with Sony being spotted on the PAX Online event participation list. PS5 detectives rallied around and quickly discovered that Sony had some sort of event booked for Friday September 18.

However, it wasn’t too long after that the time slot was erased, as was the Sony holder. It’s possible the company pulled out of the online event, and there’s also the chance that the planned appearance had little or nothing to do with the PlayStation 5 anyway…or just maybe, Sony and the PAX organizers have come to an agreement for the firm to spring a huge surprise on September 18 and blow us all away with every last detail about the PS5.