While Sony's latest announcement of a redesigned PlayStation 4 alongside the all-new PlayStation 4 Pro should keep gamers entertained for at least a few more years, we're interested in what the upcoming PlayStation 5 might offer. Here we speculate about whether there will actually be a PS5, along with a potential release date window, plus rumoured specs and design.
While Sony's latest announcement of a redesigned PlayStation 4 alongside the all-new PlayStation 4 Pro should keep gamers entertained for at least a few more years, we're interested in what the upcoming PlayStation 5 might offer. Here we speculate about whether there will actually be a PS5, along with a potential release date window, plus rumoured specs and design.
Sony PlayStation 5: Will there be a PS5?
With the release of PlayStation Now many have speculated that physical consoles are a thing of the past. PlayStation Now is a cloud-based gaming service that lets you play PS3 games on the PS4, PS Vita and Bravia TVs, while support for non-Sony and -PlayStation devices is slowly rolling out with the introduction of PS Now for Windows.
Yet we still think there will be a PS5. Not only does the PS4 bring in a huge amount of profit, Sony boss Shuhei Yoshida has been quoted as saying the future of the PlayStation is up to developers.
"If they still feel that we need more machine power - 'we want to realise this and that and that, but we cannot do it with the PS4' - there's a good reason to have the PS5 so developers can create their vision," said Yoshida.
The PS4 is immensely powerful but, unlike the thousands of gaming PCs with which it competes, Sony's console doesn't benefit from the possibility of regular processor and graphics updates. One day we will reach the stage where the PS4 is notably inferior to PCs, and then game developers will demand more power. Also see: PS4 vs Xbox One vs gaming PCs and Best gaming PCs 2016.
Plus, with PlayStation Now Sony will be able to keep customers happy by allowing them to continue using their PS4 games on a new PS5.
Sony PlayStation 5: Potential PS5 UK release date
It's been 20 years since the first PlayStation was released, and there were seven years between the launches of the PS3 and PS4. That was the longest stretch, with the PS2 appearing five years three months after the PS1, and the PS3 six years eight months after the PS2. It's fairly safe to say Sony doesn't follow a strict pattern with its console releases.
Games consoles are naturally long-lifecycle products, with customers investing considerable expense in both the platform and its proprietary titles. However, Sony is reportedly working on shorter timeframes between its PlayStation launches - at least that's the impression given by AMD, which manufactured the hardware powering the PS4.
CFO Devinder Kumar, speaking at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Technology Conference, said AMD had made a real impact with the release of the PS4 in 2013. Around 2016, he added, AMD would again be a very different company. Although he may not have been referring specifically to a new console release from Sony, such devices are extremely profitable to AMD and it is always thinking about what's coming next.
"Three years before you introduce a product a decision is made to use a particular company. In this case it was AMD. Then you co-develop the product with funding dollars, mostly coming from our customers. When you introduce the product there are no R&D, sales and marketing expenses - however many dollars you generate fall to the bottom line, and that’s what excites us," said Kumar.
Earlier this year Sony's software product development head Scott Rhode told MTV: "Very soon we'll start thinking about what we'll do next. That's the culture at Sony. We always have to do something that's bigger and better than what's already been done."
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire