The PS5's 825GB of internal storage was the only downside to a great piece of hardware. Not in terms of performance, whose lightning-fast speeds have earned it a rapturous reputation around the world, but in terms of capacity; with 50-100GB per PS5 launch title, having only 667GB of usable capacity may not be very promising.

On a positive note, however, it is understood that the external SSD can be used as an overspill for content; while PS5 games cannot be played directly from the external SSD, most people move content to the drive when not in use, They thought it would save them the trouble of having to redo downloads and installations, and since that's what the Xbox Series X does, it wouldn't be surprising if Sony followed suit.

However, that is not the case at launch; Digital Foundry has confirmed that PS4 games installed on the PS5 can be moved to an external SSD, but PS5 games cannot. The site was unwilling to fill the PS5's internal storage with games and then install new PS5 titles; the PS5's operating system told testers they needed to carefully free up space, but PS5 games could only be deleted rather than archived on the SSD. We could not.

The site also discovered that the PS5 handles saved game data differently. The console allows PS4 saved game data to be restored via USB, but PS5 saved data does not have that option. PS5 will automatically back up saved data to the cloud, so those worried about losing saved games in the event of a drive failure can rest a little easier.

These data management quirks can of course be changed with software patches, but the options at launch are somewhat limited. Even if you purchase all available titles on launch day, it will be difficult to fill your internal storage with PS5 games, but it is probably best to store your PS4 games on an external drive, even if load times are somewhat longer (an SSD will allow you to use the PS4's internal hard drive, which is still faster than a hard disk drive).

In the long run, however, this is a bit of a concern. In particular, Sony does not currently allow users to upgrade the internal storage; while there is an SSD expansion slot inside the PS5 that supports M.2 SSD sticks, the slot is currently unusable due to the few drives that actually work. The PS5 will work here. It has very specific requirements regarding the drive: it needs to be thin enough to fit in the physical space, while delivering at least 5.5GB/s of bandwidth over a PCIe Gen4 connection, so it is wise to hold off anyway until Sony officially signs off on some compatible models.

This is where Microsoft's Xbox Series X and Series S have the advantage. Not only do they offer expandable storage (albeit expensive), but unused games can be backed up to an external SSD. With that in mind, there is no real reason why Sony can't do the same within a few months. Expectations.