NBA Live 21 PS5: Sony's next-gen console will enhance EA's attempt to revive their basketball franchise

The countdown to the PS5 is well and truly underway.

Sony’s official line is that the console will be out in “holiday 2020”, aka anywhere between October and December.

However, a leak has suggested that November 20 is the date that gamers should have circled.

What we do know about the PS5 though is the specs. Sony's next-gen console will take gaming to the next level, and should help EA revive their NBA franchise, NBA Live.

The proposed PS5 release date should come right in the middle of the NBA season, which means it will run right into EA's return to the court in NBA Live 21.

PlayStation 5: What to expect

NEW LOGO: It looks familiar...

Although Sony is keeping some details close to their chest, there is plenty of information out there about how the new console will impact NBA Live 21.

The PS5 could be a truly legendary machine.

PS5 Specs

The PS5 specs are under a bit more scrutiny than usual given that Microsoft announced what’s inside their monster of a machine, but it looks like things are still pretty good for Sony fans.

The PS5 will contain eight Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz, 10.28 TFLOPs, a Memory/Interface of 16GB GDDR6 and a bandwidth of 448GB/s.

READ MORE: Next-gen consoles not expecting any delays

The main takeaway here is that loading times should be a thing of the past, making the Ultimate Team and Franchise Mode experience far smoother and more enjoyable players.

During a Sony meeting, the company showed off this leap forward with 2018’s Spider-Man game. On PS4 it takes around eight seconds to load cities and navigate through them. With the PS5 it took under a second.

In short, this is the future of gaming.

What does the PS5 mean for NBA Live 21?

GRAPHICS: 19's graphics were strong, so on the PS5 it will be another level

After missing 2019 it is unclear when NBA Live 21 could come out. The NBA season starts in October so the game is likely to drop in September. This means the game will arrive on PS4 before the next-gen console is available.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about NBA Live 21

However, there has been speculation that EA intentionally missed NBA Live 20 so that the next instalment would be ready to take advantage of the next-gen specs.

The improved graphics, including all-new ray tracing, will create an incredibly in-depth and realistic environment, with more detail able to be added to the arena, crowd and even the benches.

Diving straight in without any load times means you can spend more time actually playing the game.

The impressive specs means that NBA Live 21 on PS5 could have more intelligent and realistic AI, resulting in a much-improved gameplay experience that closer resembles actual basketball.

READ MORE: NBA Live 21 Ultimate Team Wishlist - House Rules & more

In short, NBA Live 21 on the PlayStation 5 will be the most realistic looking NBA game ever and the ultra-powerful hardware means an even better experience.