It took Sony about 7 years to churn out PlayStation 4. Will it take about the same time for the company to roll out PlayStation 5?
Judging by the release of PlayStation Now, a video game streaming service designed to supply gaming content to various PlayStation models, it appears that Sony can afford to dilly dally with the development and launch of PS5. Why make new hardware when issuing software upgrades or PS4-compatible games will do the job, right? However, some still think that Sony will still go for the next level and issue PS5, as PC Advisor speculated.
"Not only does the PS4 bring in a huge amount of profit, Sony boss Shuhei Yoshida has been quoted as saying the future of the PlayStation is up to developers," the site said.
"If they still feel that we need more machine power - 'we want to realise this and that and that, but we cannot do it with the PS4' - there's a good reason to have the PS5 so developers can create their vision," PC Advisor quoted Yoshida as saying.
"We tend to start thinking about the development of the next system, surprisingly only a few years into the life cycle of the current gen," Scott Rohde, Sony's Software Product Development Head, told MTV.
"As soon as you launch a new console you have to take a breather, there's gonna be a couple of years where we're just enhancing this machine and making it as great as it can be," Rohde explained. "And of course very soon, we'll start thinking about what we'll do next. That's the culture at Sony. We always have to do something that's bigger and better than what's already been done."
So that's why it takes them ages to produce a new iteration of their popular gaming consoles.
However, in these times, where new versions of gadgets regularly get released within an ever shortening time-frame, it looks like Sony should think about speeding things up a bit.
"It's probably a sign of the times and how much has changed in seven years, but I think the willingness and the appetite to pick up new technology fast has probably changed quite a bit," Fergal Gara, Sony UK chief, observed, as noted by T3. "What we do know is that the [PS4] uptake is going to be very sharp. Does that mean this is going to be a much bigger cycle? Maybe. Or it might mean that it's just a bit more compressed into the first few years, that the latter years are a little softer."
T3 also quoted sources saying that it's likely we'll only wait 5-6 years before PS5 is launched, making a 2018-2020 release a real possibility. Meanwhile, PC Advisor also has a similar projection, pegging its availability sooner than 2020.
"So, rather than waiting another seven years for the PS5, which would peg its launch in 2020, the fast-paced development of technology could mean the PS5 rears its head much sooner - but could it really be as soon as 2016?" the site speculated. "We suspect that even if Sony is able to shorten the time between its PlayStation releases, we'll still be waiting until at least 2018 before the PS5 becomes a realistic option."
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