Playstation 5 - All the Rumours That Matter
advertisement
VOICE OVER: Andrew Labelle
WRITTEN BY: Ty Richardson
Sony is bailing on E3 2019, and that could mean that the Playstation 5 is on the horizon. Will the PS5 be a streaming device? The thought of an always online Playstation 5 is troubling, but we don't know anything for sure, but here are all the rumours that we think you need to hear.
PlayStation 5: All the Rumours
Well, it’s looking like the new generation of consoles is on the horizon. Sony has confirmed that their newest console, codenamed “Erebus”, is officially under development. On top of that, a few developers have already stated that they’re beginning development on games for next-gen consoles (i.e. Bethesda and “The Elder Scrolls VI”). With so few details to work with, many people are anxious to know what the alleged PlayStation 5 could bring to the home console experience. What could the system bring to the table that current consoles haven’t already? Is it going to involve changing the way we look at games? Will home consoles finally be on the same level as modern PCs?
A common topic of discussion has been cloud-based gaming and streaming. Major figures of the gaming industry have already boasted about how streaming is “the future” for video games. Sony’s competitors, Microsoft and Nintendo, seem to agree. Xbox is preparing to launch “Project xCloud”, which will grant users access to Xbox games across multiple platforms. Nintendo is currently experimenting with streaming as a means to avoid system stress and games with massive file sizes. As for Sony themselves, the company has been showing continuous support for their streaming service PlayStation Now, adding more and more titles to the catalog every other month. Clearly, they see a future in this service, and while it isn’t perfect, they could be fine-tuning a newer version that’ll support both the PS4 and PS5. It’s also worth mentioning that a patent owned by Sony was recently published, titled “Remastering through emulation”. Could this tie into a major feature for the PS5?
As great as streaming sounds, there’s a more important mystery in front of us - what is the PS5 going to look like? Will we even be getting a box? “Tekken” producer Katsuhiro Harada made claims in 2013 that the PS5 will be nothing more than a controller and monitor. This would certainly be an interesting way of going about console gaming, and not just from a user standpoint. This structure would allow Sony to cut down costs on hardware and focus more on improving system performance or fund more projects for first and third-party studios. In other words, better service and more PlayStation exclusives. Assuming we’re even getting a box, Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot claims that the PS5 will be the last hardware console, and streaming will take over afterwards.
Of course, the biggest question is “When is it coming?” The PlayStation 4 may only be five years old, but this is still worth asking so that we may better prepare ourselves as consumers. We want to know when our consoles will lose support and how much money we’ll have to drop in order to move on with the next generation. Head of PlayStation John Kodera has assured consumers that the next console from Sony is still roughly three years away. Throughout the PlayStation 4’s lifespan, Sony has been implementing new features and adopting others from its competitors. In addition to improved system performance, we’ve seen better ways to organize our digital library of games, had easier access in joining parties with friends, and cross-play support is fixing to go into beta soon. In a sense, Sony has been using the PS4 as a sort of prototype for what we can expect from the next console. After all, sources have claimed that a major update for PS4 is imminent and will reflect concepts that will be incorporated into the PS5. They know that if they want to survive in what could potentially be the last major generation of consoles, they’ll need to get everything right on the first go with very few hiccups.
Things are going to be interesting for the next few years. Streaming and cross-play has opened up many opportunities for developers and platform-holders. Leaks have become more prevalent in recent years. So, as rumors continue to pop up, we’re going to have a lot of questions that may not be answered until the year of launch. Will the PS5 give developers an easier time to develop games? How common will technical or security issues be? If streaming is a major aspect of the console, will we be able to do anything with the PS5 should our Internet crap out? If there’s no hardware, what’s going to happen to all of those special edition consoles? What about the third-party companies that make accessories for consoles? There are many, many questions we still need answered, and we may not get those answers for another few years.
Well, it’s looking like the new generation of consoles is on the horizon. Sony has confirmed that their newest console, codenamed “Erebus”, is officially under development. On top of that, a few developers have already stated that they’re beginning development on games for next-gen consoles (i.e. Bethesda and “The Elder Scrolls VI”). With so few details to work with, many people are anxious to know what the alleged PlayStation 5 could bring to the home console experience. What could the system bring to the table that current consoles haven’t already? Is it going to involve changing the way we look at games? Will home consoles finally be on the same level as modern PCs?
A common topic of discussion has been cloud-based gaming and streaming. Major figures of the gaming industry have already boasted about how streaming is “the future” for video games. Sony’s competitors, Microsoft and Nintendo, seem to agree. Xbox is preparing to launch “Project xCloud”, which will grant users access to Xbox games across multiple platforms. Nintendo is currently experimenting with streaming as a means to avoid system stress and games with massive file sizes. As for Sony themselves, the company has been showing continuous support for their streaming service PlayStation Now, adding more and more titles to the catalog every other month. Clearly, they see a future in this service, and while it isn’t perfect, they could be fine-tuning a newer version that’ll support both the PS4 and PS5. It’s also worth mentioning that a patent owned by Sony was recently published, titled “Remastering through emulation”. Could this tie into a major feature for the PS5?
As great as streaming sounds, there’s a more important mystery in front of us - what is the PS5 going to look like? Will we even be getting a box? “Tekken” producer Katsuhiro Harada made claims in 2013 that the PS5 will be nothing more than a controller and monitor. This would certainly be an interesting way of going about console gaming, and not just from a user standpoint. This structure would allow Sony to cut down costs on hardware and focus more on improving system performance or fund more projects for first and third-party studios. In other words, better service and more PlayStation exclusives. Assuming we’re even getting a box, Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot claims that the PS5 will be the last hardware console, and streaming will take over afterwards.
Of course, the biggest question is “When is it coming?” The PlayStation 4 may only be five years old, but this is still worth asking so that we may better prepare ourselves as consumers. We want to know when our consoles will lose support and how much money we’ll have to drop in order to move on with the next generation. Head of PlayStation John Kodera has assured consumers that the next console from Sony is still roughly three years away. Throughout the PlayStation 4’s lifespan, Sony has been implementing new features and adopting others from its competitors. In addition to improved system performance, we’ve seen better ways to organize our digital library of games, had easier access in joining parties with friends, and cross-play support is fixing to go into beta soon. In a sense, Sony has been using the PS4 as a sort of prototype for what we can expect from the next console. After all, sources have claimed that a major update for PS4 is imminent and will reflect concepts that will be incorporated into the PS5. They know that if they want to survive in what could potentially be the last major generation of consoles, they’ll need to get everything right on the first go with very few hiccups.
Things are going to be interesting for the next few years. Streaming and cross-play has opened up many opportunities for developers and platform-holders. Leaks have become more prevalent in recent years. So, as rumors continue to pop up, we’re going to have a lot of questions that may not be answered until the year of launch. Will the PS5 give developers an easier time to develop games? How common will technical or security issues be? If streaming is a major aspect of the console, will we be able to do anything with the PS5 should our Internet crap out? If there’s no hardware, what’s going to happen to all of those special edition consoles? What about the third-party companies that make accessories for consoles? There are many, many questions we still need answered, and we may not get those answers for another few years.
