PS5 Ethereum Mining Is A Hoax

The PlayStation 5 is a console that is often discussed alongside its sales or through the means of illicit business practices. Since its launch, the console has been the subject of controversy ranging from scalpers to an ongoing PlayStation and Xbox component shortage crisis that affects the production of consoles. The news pertaining to Sony's latest console has been enough to overshadow what makes the console a hot commodity to begin with, that being its specs and capabilities.

Prior to the PS5's launch, a myriad of features was announced for the console to make it stand out from its predecessors. The new DualSense, replacing the legacy DualShock series of controllers, offered tactile functions and haptic feedback that was innovative for Sony. The added ray-tracing capabilities allow graphics and performance that simply wasn't possible in the previous console generations. An unintended feature that Sony failed to mention, however, was thought to be discovered by hackers, allowing the PS5 to mine cryptocurrency.

Earlier reports showed that the PS5 was capable of mining Ethereum, referring to the specs of the PS5 being on par with that of a mining rig. A screenshot posted by Chinese hackers showed the PS5 mining in action, adding speculation that not only was the PS5 hacked, but the specs were also overclocked to meet this requirement.

Unfortunately for those who thought of turning their PS5 into a cryptocurrency mining device, they will have to look towards other ventures. Alongside the original image was a QR code which, when scanned, simply read "there is no such software for entertainment hahaha" when translated from Chinese, thus being nothing more than an elaborate hoax.

Perhaps the biggest piece of gaming news in the past year that infamously linked cryptocurrency mining with video games was the controversy surrounding Cooking Mama: Cookstar for the Nintendo Switch. Almost immediately as it was launched, Cookstar was pulled from the eShop alongside several retailers due to claims that the game was secretly mining cryptocurrency in the background. Cooking Mama's developer has long since refuted this claim, however, it opened the potential for games to be tied with cryptocurrency in some capacity.

While the PS5 is currently incapable of mining cryptocurrency, the possibility of a console becoming a mining rig through hacks is something that could happen in the future. As the possibility of Sony or Microsoft offering an option to use their consoles as mining rigs is slim to none, there are other companies acknowledging the mining craze for what it is. In the past several months, there was a shortage of Nvidia RTX cards due to the rise of cryptocurrency mining. Nvidia addressed the issue by promising a line of graphic cards specifically made for mining purposes.

During the February 25 PlayStation State of Play, Square Enix aired a new trailer announcing that Final Fantasy 7 Remake would be getting a PS5 upgrade called "Intergrade," and that Intergrade would introduce a new chapter to the game focused on the classic fan-favorite character Yuffie. She and someone named Sonon Kusakabe, who's a brand-new member of the Final Fantasy 7 universe, will be working together to infiltrate Midgar and steal powerful Materia in the name of Wutai.

As a result of this recent reveal, Yuffie has taken center stage for Square Enix's promotion of the upcoming Final Fantasy 7 Remake PS5 upgrade. Over on its Final Fantasy 7 Remake Twitter account, the developer released three new screenshots of Yuffie in one of the new outfits she'll be wearing throughout the Intergrade storyline and beyond, possibly. These shots show her off in the patchwork Moogle outfit she sported in the Intergrade trailer, letting fans see what she looks like both up close and afar.