Sony’s tech wizard Mark Cerny has teased a number of new video game graphics features in a new video published to the official PlayStation YouTube channel titled ‘From Project Amethyst to the Future of Play: AMD and Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Shared Vision.’ Almost all of the near nine minute chat is about advances in graphics technology Sony and AMD have been working on over the past two years.
But then, at the end of the video, a rather innocuous line from Cerny himself dares to mention a “future console” coming in “a few years’ time.” And that’s all it has taken to spark a growing wave of speculation about when Sony will release the inevitable PlayStation 6.
Here’s the line in question:
“Overall, it’s of course still very early days for these technologies, they only exist in simulation right now. But the results are quite promising and I’m really excited about bringing them to a future console in a few years’ time.”
A future console in a few years’ time? Most are taking that to suggest Sony plans to release the PS6 late 2028.
This isn’t the first time Sony executives have talked about future PlayStation consoles in vague terms. In June, in an investor-focused interview published on Sony’s corporate website, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO and president Hideaki Nishino was asked directly: with cloud gaming more of a viable option than ever before, do we need a next-generation console? Is SIE developing one?
Nishino began his response by explaining why console hardware is still needed despite the rise of cloud gaming: “We have been in cloud gaming for over the last 11 years. We deployed a cloud gaming service to support the PS3, PS4, and PS5 generations and we are really proud about the quality we have been delivering.
“Cloud streaming through PlayStation Plus Premium, and we have a cloud streaming beta on the PlayStation Portal, is one such way we are doing this.
“However, the business model for cloud gaming must be sustainable for the longer term growth. Cloud gaming is progressing well from a technical standpoint, as we have demonstrated with these offerings. But end-to-end network stability is not in our control.
“Cloud gaming is increasingly providing an additional option for players to access content. But our belief is the majority of players continue to want a play experience, the gaming through a local execution, without dependency on network conditions. PS5 and PS5 Pro have validated this thesis, I believe.”
But is a new console actually now in development? Here was Nishino’s response to that question:
“Our console business has evolved into a multi-faceted platform, and we now have a large ecosystem of highly engaged players across both the PS5 and the PS4 generations. So naturally, therefore, there is a huge interest in our next-generation console strategy.
“While we cannot share further details at this stage, the future of the platform is top of mind. We are committed to exploring a new and enhanced way for players to engage with our content and our services.”
PS6 talk shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Console manufacturers often start work on next-generation consoles soon after they release current-gen consoles. In fact, Sony started development of PS5 almost immediately after PS4 came out back in November 2013. Following what’s gone before, perhaps PS6 has already been in the works for five years. Maybe even longer.
But could Sony’s next-gen console plans include a new PlayStation handheld, too? In August, PlayStation 6 handheld rumors ramped up, alongside claims it will be dockable. If you look at the PlayStation Portal and how it has evolved, Sony is clearly steering in the direction of a handheld. Indeed, Nishino was asked during the investor interview about Sony’s strategy around the PlayStation Portal, and whether handhelds were a part of its next-generation strategy, although he failed to answer in a meaningful way.
The ‘will there be a next-gen?’ question has been bubbling under the surface ever since the current-gen kicked off in November 2020. With the PS5 now pushing past the halfway point of its life and Microsoft releasing Xbox-branded handhelds, change, clearly, is coming.
Image credit: PlayStation / YouTube.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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