Sony is set to release its next generation PlayStation in the second half of 2018, says Macquarie Capital Securities analyst Damian Thong. This is an exciting prediction considering PlayStation 5 will arrive in the market 12 months from now.
Unquestionably, numerous suggestions have been made which correlate with this prediction. After Sony released PS4 Pro in 2016, and the fact it is still a great machine, the next generation may be quite peculiar considering the firm wants to continue solidifying its name in the market. Some analysts are however not in agreement with such a move, claiming that PS5 is being released too soon than it ought to be. They claim that doing so exposes Sony to increased criticism as opposed to when they unveiled it two years from now.
Is such a move necessary?
The suggested release date can be trusted considering this particular analyst has in the past made accurate release date predictions for the PS4 Pro and Slim models. Therefore, as much as the 2018 date may seem far-fetched, Thong’s prediction cannot just be dismissed out of hand.
But no matter how much credibility this prediction may have, determining its accuracy will have to wait until the said date. The PS4 was launched 9 months before its ultimate release date and were in stores within a month.
Nevertheless, if Sony continues with the suggested date, the Japanese corporation will be allowed time to respond to questions revolving the Xbox Project Scorpio. The Microsoft console is said to be more powerful than PS4 Pro, and Xbox will with time be a staunch competitor for the console.
In an aim to minimize Scorpio’s impact on the market, Sony will seek to release PlayStation 5 and get people fixed on its next generation device. But doing so will also involve tradeoffs, especially on the sales of PS4 and PS4 Pro.
But some analysts may view such a step to be inconvenient considering Sony already outselling its main competitor. And even though the firm anticipates Xbox Project Scorpio will be a tough mountain to climb, it can always cut down on this competition by reducing the PS4 and PS4 Pro prices.
Complex Video Game Industry
An industry with humble background has rapidly evolved into more complex than we would have ever anticipated. With such a rapid evolution, releasing any new machine in this industry is more sensitive than any person would have thought.
What if Sony indeed moves forth to release the PlayStation 5? What are the expected features? One thing for sure is that the specs will beat those of Xbox Project Scorpio, without which the console will be senseless. If 2018 is the year we get to see PS5, the device will not be an incremental upgrade of the current PS4 Pro but rather a complete revolution.
Among the top features will be the ability to deliver 4K gaming experience. PS4 Pro excellently delivers this and so should its bigger bro. The only short fall with the PS4 is its inability to deliver native 4K and 60 frames per second.
“Obviously new hardware should be able to support 4K TVs and possibly even 8K TVs at a push!” says Chris Kingsley, CTO and co-founder of developer Rebellion. It may be quite early to start mentioning 8K but as we all know, technology can do anything.