While rumors have been circulating for months, Chinese chip supplier Weltrend has reported that it has shipped integrated circuits for new PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo consoles. At a time when there is constant talk of a potential PS5 Pro and Nintendo Switch 2, such an announcement encourages wild speculation. Despite the absence of any official statement from the gaming giants, things seem to be taking shape.
PS5 Pro and Nintendo Switch 2: mid-gen consoles on the horizon?
As usual with this type of information, it’s always best to be cautious, but it’s still stirring up the gaming community. It’s the website TweakTown that reports that Chinese supplier Weltrend (WeiQuan Electronics in China) has recorded a quarterly sales increase thanks to “new PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch models”. Of course, the PS5 Pro, the new Xbox Series and the Switch 2 immediately spring to mind.
According to TweakTown, the PS5 Pro is scheduled for release during the holiday season. This information is in line with previous leaks about Sony’s new console. The media outlet also states that it could be presented at the Tokyo Game Show 2024, starting on September 26. This seems surprising, given PlayStation’s tendency to go it alone for its announcements, as was the case in 2016 for the PS4 Pro at the PlayStation Meeting.
At the end of 2023, Tom’s Hardware mentioned the delivery of the first PS5 Pro development kits to video game studios, based on a leak from an insider on the Resetera forum. Once again, it’s difficult to verify the veracity of this information, but the timetable is consistent. What’s certain is that there’s no smoke without fire.
On Nintendo’s side, information is scarcer, but this delivery of integrated circuits by Weltrend may indeed signal that something is afoot. The life cycle of the consoles may also be a clue, since the Nintendo Switch has been in service for 7 years. What’s more, next-generation games are difficult to adapt to this portable console. Nintendo needs to evolve its hardware to be able to offer new titles from third-party publishers to the brand’s fans.
A new Xbox console?
At the last Xbox Games Showcase, Microsoft announced new iterations of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. Although their specifications are the same, it’s quite possible that the components have evolved. In the life cycle of a console, hardware improvements are frequently made, often to reduce costs or improve reliability, as in the case of the PS5 Slim. When Weltrend speaks of a “new Xbox model”, we assume it refers to the recently unveiled Xbox Series.
However, at the beginning of the year, Microsoft spoke about the future of the Xbox brand on its blog, referring to an unprecedented generational milestone, if The Verge is to be believed. The post has since been withdrawn, but Microsoft seems to be working on the post-Xbox Series, so it’s not going to arrive any time soon. For his part, Phil Spencer has admitted that he really appreciates the concept of portable consoles, which have been very much in vogue for some time now. Given the success of the Nintendo Switch and machines like the ROG Ally X, there’s no doubt that discussions about this type of hardware have been taking place at Microsoft.
Two years ago, Phil Spencer also had some fun with the community on X, posting a photo showing what appears to be the “Keystone Project”, whose design is reminiscent of the Sonos Amp. A dedicated streaming machine that would simply give access to Xbox Cloud Gaming, included in the Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Despite patent registrations, this new hardware was never mentioned again, and was presumably abandoned. Even so, this kind of machine was completely in line with Xbox’s strategy of expanding its digital services.
For several months now, rumors and leaks have been pointing in the direction of new consoles. Most of the activity seems to be coming from Nintendo and PlayStation. Xbox, on the other hand, is determined to concentrate on its current machines and online services, although a surprise is not out of the question. Whatever the case may be, we’re sure there’ll be plenty of great things arriving in the months to come, much to the delight of gamers!
