Speculation has begun to swirl about the release of Sony's next-generation gaming machine - the PlayStation 6.
The PS6 feels inevitable, but the next-generation machine remains a mystery to gamers worldwide.
It has been just over three years since the PlayStation 5 arrived in late 2020, earning great success as it sold over 50 million units as of December 2023 (via Sony).
When Will The PlayStation 6 Be Released?
It is still murky regarding when gamers can expect the PlayStation 6 to be released.
The console is still likely a few years away; however, it might be closer than one may think.
During a 2024 financial call, Sony Senior Vice President Naomi Matsuoka revealed the company's current gaming machine (the PS5) is just entering "the latter stage of its life cycle," meaning sales will likely start to decline as the console reaches a level of public saturation (via Nasdaq):
"Looking ahead, PS5 will enter the latter stage of its life cycle. As such, we will put more emphasis on the balance between profitability and sales. For this reason, we expect the annual sales pace of PS5 hardware will start falling from the next fiscal year."
Sony previously acknowledged the idea of another console coming after the PS5 before, revealing during the controversial Xbox/Activision FTC trial they still planned to be in the business in a decade (per Stephen Totilo).
However, this "latter stage" comment is the first real-time the company has put any sort of timeline on when fans can expect the next console.
If "latter stage" means the PS5 is just entering the second half of its life, that would make a lot of sense.
The PlayStation 4 life cycle lasted seven years, releasing in 2013 before the PS5 succeeded it in 2020.
Should the PlayStation 5 follow a similar pattern (which this "latter stage" comment seems to indicate) that would put a PS6 launch somewhere around 2027 or 2028.
With sales of the PS5 seemingly starting to slow, this could see Sony aim to get its new console out sooner rather than later; however, at present, it seems highly unrealistic it would come any sooner than seven years after the launch of the PS5.
How Much Will The PlayStation 6 Cost?
No pricing information for the PlayStation 6 is currently available, but fans can expect to pony up a pretty penny when the console does eventually hit store shelves.
The PS5 launched stateside at two different price points with the disk-based version of the next-gen machine coming in at $499 and the all-digital diskless SKU being $449 USD.
While those prices have slowly crept downward since release, gamers looking to jump on the PS6 bandwagon should be prepared to pay somewhere around that $499 USD mark as a baseline.
The most a Sony PlayStation console has ever cost at launch came during the PS3 era when the company's first HD gaming machine notoriously topped out at $599 USD.
While, at the time, this $599 USD price point was seen as a massive misstep for the company, resulting in Sony falling behind competitors like Microsoft's Xbox 360, it would not be all that surprising if the PlayStation 6 were to get close to that high watermark (at least for the top-end model of the console).
Gamers are more open to spending big on upmarket tech than they were in 2006, as long as the value proposition is justified.
With all this in mind, it would be a bit of a shock should Sony opt to get close to that $600 USD mark again, seeing as how much of a black eye the PS3 launch was for the Japanese tech giant.
So, a PS6 launch price between $500 and $550 USD feels about right.
Expected Specs of the PlayStation 6
Of course, fans will likely not know the exact specs of the PS6 until Sony officially unveils the next-gen machine, but there have been reports pointing to where the company is planning on going with its sixth home console.
According to leaker Moore's Law is Dead (via TweakTown), AMD will yet again be manufacturing chips for Sony's next console (aka the PlayStation 6).
As reported in February 2024, AMD has seemingly received a contract to work on the PlayStation 6.
AMD's next-gen Zen 5 chipset architecture is reportedly going to release sometime in 2025, meaning that could be the basis of what the PS6 is expected to use.
This could allow for reliable 8K resolution as well as being able to run games in 4K at a stable 60 or even 120 frames per second.
Thus far in the PlayStation 4's life, the console has struggled with offering gamers the best of both worlds when it comes to performance and fidelity, making the user often choose between higher on-screen resolution or better frame rate.
Judging from where the architecture of the PS6 could be headed, Sony's next console may do away with that, allowing for a best-of-both-worlds situation between performance and fidelity.
This is something that Sony is reportedly targeting with an incoming PS5 Pro, and could further build upon with the PS6.
[ PS5 Pro Release, Price, Specs and Everything We Know ]
The PlayStation 6 currently has no publicly known release date.
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