Aside from wearing out the L3 button on my PS4 controller, I feel like I just bought the current generation Sony PlayStation 4. Even though its release date of November 15, 2013 is barely more than 2 years ago, the internet is already buzzing about the PS5. I’ve come across a ton of rumors, concept art, and release date speculations for the next gen console.
Another artist rendition of the PS5
Release Date
Before we jump into the speculated release dates, it’s a good idea to take a look back at SONY’s history releasing gaming consoles:
Playstation- 12/3/1994
PS2- 3/4/2000
PS3- 11/11/2006
PS4- 11/15/2013
Average time between releases: 6 1/2 years
Merely extrapolating based on SONY’s past, we can assume the next gen PS5 console will be released in early 2020. There may be some pressure to compete with Mircosoft’s next gen XBox, though, which is rumored to come out sometime in 2018. Neither SONY nor Microsoft have released a timeline or confirmed release date, though, so at this point we’ll just have to ballpark it somewhere between 2018-2020. My best guess? Mid-November, 2019 (just in time for the holidays).
The later the better, though, in my opinion. Gaming consoles are an investment, and I’ll feel kinda cheated if I have to upgrade again as soon as 2018.
And another artist rendering of the PS5
Rumors
You see those artist renderings of the PS5? The first one at the beginning of the article is noticeably lacking something previous gaming consoles have- a place to insert a game. Gamers have been trying to delay the inevitable as long as possible, but the days of buying used games or re-selling your old ones are coming to an end. Cartridges died. Audio CDs are all but dead. DVDs and Blu-Rays are pretty much worthless. Disc-based video games are next. Over half my current video game library is already digitally stored on my PS4, and I’ll be shocked if next gen consoles aren’t 100% digital, whether they be streaming or downloads (or most likely, both).
With the death of the disc-based game, I expect both console and game prices to drop dramatically. While we may no longer be paying $400 for a system and $59.99 for a game upfront, the gaming industry is still going to siphon that paper out of us through in-game purchases. It’s already happening on current gen systems, and will only get worse when games go completely digital. Take NBA2K for example. A big part of the game is based on Virtual Currency, or “VC” that you can earn by playing the game or purchase with actual money. Sure, you can spend hours grinding for VC, but over the years 2K has made it increasingly difficult to accumulate while rewarding people with limitless budgets who shell out fifty bucks to get ahead in the game. I’m serious. You can buy 200,000 VC for $49.99 on Gamestop right now if you want (no I am not getting paid to insert this link, I just want to show you how far this has come already). That 200k VC won’t even get you very far! Watch this guy burn through $99.98 worth of actual money in less than 20 minutes:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=lGpf3XndrQw
Gento is a YouTube personality who likely gets handouts from gaming companies, or at bare minimum uses his revenue from these videos to purchase the VC for these videos, but every other gamer watching his videos is fronting their own money or taking mom or dad’s credit card for these in-game purchases. If you want to compete with these guys online, you’re either digging into your wallet or spending hours upon hours playing the game to get on their level. For reference, you get about 600-900 VC for every game you play (typically takes a half hour to play a game). You do the math.
Enough of the shitty aspects of next-gen gaming though, and onto some good rumors. The PS5 is rumored to support streaming 4K gaming, meaning no more loading/buffering, and incredible picture quality. GTA 8 will look so realistic, after playing for a few hours you’ll feel more guilty than this guy:
Hey @XboxSupport I killed someone in GTA V. Can you please check on him? He was wearing a red shirt and I shot him with a rocket launcher.
— Jake Forsling (@jfor25) May 6, 2014
The PS5 is also rumored to improve on their voice and facial recognition. If you have the PS4, you’ll notice that the Playstation Eye doesn’t quite get the job done. You’ll no longer have to adjust the lighting or repeat yourself over and over. The PS5 will recognize you the moment you walk into a room, and will be able to distinguish your voice from other players. Maybe. Like I said, these are just rumors.
In the past few years we’ve seen a lot of advances in gaming. Only time will tell what the next generation will bring.
