After Sony Interactive Entertainment Head John Kodera was told earlier this week that the PlayStation 4 has arrived in the ‘last phase’, everyone started speculating that we could already get the PS5 next year. expect and the new console might already be announced on the upcoming E3. That is all going too fast, as Kodera explained to the WSJ .
Sony is of course working on the successor of the current PlayStation, but realistically we should not expect the console before 2021. According to Kodera, Sony is “now going through the knees, so that we can jump higher in the future”. The traditional cycle of a new console every few years is outdated and the focus is now much more on making services such as PlayStation Plus more stable than the unreliable sales of consoles and games. Sony has already deviated from the traditional cycle by introducing the PS4 Pro a small update of the existing console that is suitable (ish) for 4K TVs. Microsoft has done the same upgrade for its Xbox One with the Xbox One X and as always, Nintendo is on a completely different path with the less powerful yet portable Switch.
That mobility is something that Sony also plays with, but the chance that the PS5 will also become portable is small. According to Kodera, Sony does not want to limit itself to one device and they now need a broader perspective because everything is connected via the internet. What does that mean? Who will say it, but with services like PS Now for streaming and Remote Play it is already possible on the PS4 to play without having physical consoles.
This also means that the ‘power’ of the PS5 may become less important than it has been in previous years. By 2021, the PS5 will be able to support excellent 4K gaming in 60 fps, but it will not go much further than that. The PS4 Pro’s step to the PS5 will probably only be a half-way and for many gamers, that’s probably fine too. Users who have had a ‘normal’ PS4 so far will probably be in for a console that looks like their TV will be really good at that time and that way Sony can also play the PS5 for just 400 euros on the shelves. explain. Anyway, this is all just as good speculation and the facts must come from Sony. So expect that you will only hear that by 2020 or at the earliest next year.