As the PlayStation 5 celebrates its 4th birthday this November, rumors about Sony’s future plans are rife, although there has been no official statements on the subject yet. A potential “PS6” is still a few years away, but what can we expect from it?
A PS5 Pro first, before the PS6?
Among the many PlayStation rumors, that of a PS5 Pro is becoming increasingly persistent. In the previous generation, the PS4 Pro arrived three years after the first model, accompanied by a slim version. The PlayStation 5 Slim was on schedule, but the “Pro” version is still a long way off. While the current console is already capable of 4K and up to 120 fps, one wonders what a more powerful version could bring.
However, the PS5 sometimes has to make a few concessions. Many titles with a very high level of detail and ray tracing enabled rarely exceed 30 fps. This is why a performance mode is often offered in games published on this console. Typically, this mode offers lower definition and fewer effects, but allows more frames per second to be displayed.
Could the PS6 deliver an 8K image?
Numerous trade magazines are talking about 8K definition in PS6 games. While this would make sense, we are faced with a technological problem and manufacturing cost considerations. At the moment, a very high-end graphics card, such as the RTX 4090, struggles to run a next-gen game in 8K. Despite intensive use of technologies such as DLSS, which enables images to be upscaled with no loss of quality, it’s still quite complex to achieve smooth gameplay with such high definition. As a reminder, we’re talking about GPUs that can cost over €2,000! This is a far cry from the very competitive price of the PS5.
Note that PlayStation is collaborating with AMD, which doesn’t have an upscaling technology as sophisticated as DLSS. AMD’s FSR works well in many cases, but it’s no match for Nvidia’s very impressive technologies. Although there are still a few years to go before the arrival of a PS6, experiencing 8K gaming with an affordable machine seems like science fiction at the moment. However, in 4 or 5 years’ time, it’s possible that the GPU market will evolve and the price of high-performance chips will become more reasonable.
Another parameter to consider is the adoption of 8K. Apart from YouTube, few platforms broadcast in such high definition, which doesn’t really encourage people to take the plunge and invest in an expensive 8K TV. Add to this the fact that French TV programs have only just begun broadcasting in 4K, and it would be rather utopian to think that 8K could be democratized in just a few years.
Will the PlayStation 6 be geared towards cloud gaming?
All we can wish for the next generation of PlayStation is a no-compromise gaming experience. A 4K image at 120 fps by default would be welcome. Performance that’s a bit more feasible for a machine that’s meant to be affordable. Upscaling technologies have time to evolve before 2028.
Le cloud gaming prend une part de plus en plus importante et si cette manière de jouer n’offre pas toujours la meilleure expérience, là aussi, des progrès pourraient changer la donne. D’autant plus que des offres forfaitaires comme celle du Game Pass ou du PlayStation Plus proposent des jeux en streaming. Cela pourrait signifier une baisse d’intérêt pour le hardware, à l’avenir. En effet, une simple application dans un téléviseur suffit pour jouer en streaming. Cette puissance de calcul déportée sur des serveurs pourrait aussi permettre de proposer des jeux en 8K, sans avoir besoin d’une console ultrapuissante.
Although the physical market is holding out, particularly for Nintendo, the video game industry is at a turning point. Dematerialization is gaining ground, and streaming offers could well see a boom in the future. Augmented reality could also bring new uses and new ways of gaming. The Apple Vision Pro seems to have already paved the way for new ways to enjoy entertainment…
