PlayStation 5 may become backwards compatible
This is evidenced by an updated Sony patent in the US, which shows that the company is looking into Sony’s backwards compatibility issues. The original patent is from 2015 and has recently been updated. On a backward compatible PlayStation 5, PS4 games could then be played. So far, the Sony PlayStation 4 Pro remains the top console from Sony.
The PlayStation 4, to the annoyance of gamers, never became backwards compatible, except for the fact that it uses the paid PlayStation Now service. The Microsoft competitor is now one step ahead: on Xbox One, older generation Xbox games can be launched easily and without any additional effort.
Whether Sony will actually enforce the patent or just applied for it to be on the safe side remains to be seen. At present, there is practically no information about Sony’s next generation console. However, what features would fit the PS5, and when is the console supposed to release?
PlayStation 5: analysts predict the release in different ways
Analyst at Macquarie Research Damian Tong once again commented on the release of the potential PS5, Sony’s expected next generation of consoles, to the market in 2018. He also spoke of over 10 teraflops of graphics performance. In comparison, Xbox One X, the most powerful console on the market, has a performance of 6 teraflops.
Will the PS5 release in 2018, 2020, or not at all? At the moment, this question cannot be answered with certainty. First, the current generation of PS4s are still selling too well, so a successor is unlikely to be needed anytime soon; PS4 Pro, for example, already offers too modern features, and the console is barely six months old. On the other hand, Tong was right with his PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro predictions.
But perhaps a well-known industry analyst will also be right. Michael Pachter. “PlayStation 5 will only be released to the market in 2019 or 2020, if it happens at all. But consoles, in their classic form, are going to leave the market anyway.” In his opinion, Sony has already provided PS4 Pro fans with enough for the first time.
In an interview with Gaming Bolt, Pachter suggests that the release of the new Sony console will take place in 2019. Pachter does not want to specify a more specific point in time, only he is sure that in 2018 the console’s entry into the market is excluded. In addition, Pachter suggests that the new PS5 will be a full 4K console.
PlayStation 5 release: no earlier than 2020 according to experts’ expectations
Mat Piscatella, a video game industry expert, also commented on the possible release of the PS5. Compared to Gaming Bolt, Piscatella predicts a PlayStation 5 release in 2020.
Piscatella expects sales figures for the current generation of the console, the PlayStation 4, to decline only in 2019. For him, that’s reason enough that Sony might just then refocus on releasing the PlayStation 5. Of course, PS4 sales depend on the games it releases and Sony’s pricing strategy.
While it may sound sad to fans, Piscatella isn’t the only one with this view.
Any other option would be strange, because the rival Xbox One X offers exactly 4K picture. However, the release date will still be decisive for Sony: according to Pachter, Sony wants to release a 4K console exactly when the TV market is ready for it. It is estimated that by 2019, about 50% of TV viewers in the US and 35% of viewers in the rest of the world will own a 4K TV.
What will the PlayStation 5 be able to do?
Until now, we can only speculate about what the PlayStation 5 will be able to do. However, the following features and changes from the predecessor model will most likely already be introduced:
All-in-one console
Sony can transform the PlayStation 5 from a pure gaming console into a system that lets you watch TV like you would on an Xbox One or run DLNA streaming to access data on other devices from the console.
Internet streaming
PlayStation Now is already showing this on a small scale. Game streaming itself is a big topic for the future. In the future, we could stream our games over the Internet, just as we already do with movies and TV shows. But the big question is whether we need a new black box full of hardware next to or below the TV, or whether Sony will ship its TVs with Dual-Shock controllers in the future.
Virtual reality support
The most important of the current gaming trends is virtual reality. Sony’s contribution is the PlayStation VR virtual reality glasses, which are already compatible with the PlayStation 4. Most likely, PlayStation VR will also work with the PlayStation 5. Due to the increased hardware, Sony could make even better virtual worlds than on the PlayStation 4. Maybe in five years the PS5 hardware will be completely in the VR headset and you won’t need an external device anymore?
backward compatibility
Gamers still love to play their old favorites – and preferably on a new console. Microsoft demonstrated this and released the Xbox One with free backwards compatibility. Also on PS5, this feature will look good – Sony’s presumably already-existing patent is definitely encouraging.
Grab a PlayStation now
In any case: who wants to buy a PlayStation, do not have to wait for the PlayStation 5. The prices for the current PlayStation 4 Pro are currently kept at around 25,000 rubles.
Read also:
- How to connect a gamepad from PS3 or PS4 to Steam Link
- Xbox One S vs PS4 Pro: Console Comparison
A photo: manufacturing companies, pixabay, Bloomberg, dualshockers.com
