With the PS6 expected to be released in the next couple of years, a reader makes his predictions of what the hardware and games will be like.
Right at this moment we could be less than 12 months away from the unveiling of the PlayStation 6. There’s some talk that RAM shortages are going to delay the next generation but even then, I don’t think there’s any suggestion it’s going to be out any later than 2028.
Tech specs have already been leaked, but you can read into those whatever you like. The more interesting rumour to me, that even Sony has hinted at, is that they’ll also have a new portable out at the same time.
So, I feel there’s enough rumours and speculation around at the moment to make some logical predictions as to what’s going on. Especially as we have a good idea what the Xbox is going to do and how there might be new competition from Steam Machine.
These are my predictions for what the PlayStation 6 will be all about. It’s based on the next gen Xbox being nothing but a PC in a box, with a bonus prediction that it’ll end up being more expensive than the Steam Machine and therefore an enormous flop. But I don’t think Sony has to worry about that either way.
- The difference in graphics is only going to be noticeable to Digital Foundry. I think everyone is already braced for this and I don’t think anyone is really blaming Sony, it’s just the way technology is nowadays. The big leaps are over and all we’ve got to look forward to is higher resolution and frame rates, and maybe a few new buzzwords like ray-tracing… which nobody will notice or really understand.
- Despite the above I’m also expecting the PlayStation 5 to be super expensive. I don’t know tech stuff, so I don’t know why the smaller the improvement gets the more it costs, but I guess it’s just that it’s expensive to get even a minor upgrade nowadays. I’d expect as much or more than the PS5 Pro, which is around £700.
- To counter the above I expect that the PlayStation 5 and 6 will be sold alongside each other for most or all of the generation. The PlayStation 5 would act as a cheaper option, a bit like the Xbox Series S, but also I expect every game to be cross-gen. I think rather than PlayStation 6 exclusives we’ll just have upgraded editions, a bit like the Switch 2.
- In combination with the above, my best guess for what the portable is, is that it’s a portable PlayStation 5. I don’t know how close it’ll get to running games as well as the actual PlayStation 5 but like many I’m suspicious that the new Power Saver mode is secretly a way to get PlayStation 5 games to run on less powerful hardware which… I think is a pretty neat idea. I’ve no idea how expensive it’ll be but if it’s like a PlayStation Portal that can also run native games I think that’s pretty tempting.
- It’s not actually that difficult to predict what the launch window games are going to be, based on what hasn’t been mentioned yet for the PlayStation 5. I think Horizon Zero Dawn 3 is almost certainly going to be the big launch game, especially as it’s known for its graphics, and that we’ll see something from the God Of War team, either a new entry or that new IP they’re rumoured to be working on. I would also expect a new Insomniac game, maybe that rumoured spin-off Venom that it’s weird we haven’t seen yet.
Am I going to proven right? I have no idea but if I am, remember where you heard it first!
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By reader Tom Meadows
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