It's all starting to hot up in terms of new gaming devices from Sony and Microsoft, isn't it? Last year, the former delivered PS5 Pro, while Microsoft has just announced its ROG Xbox Ally handheld - and it sounds like the two teams aren't stopping there, as expected. Next-gen Xbox and PlayStation plans are well underway.
In a new business meeting about the future of PlayStation, Sony CEO Hideaki Nishino touched on PS6, and the sorts of plans the company has for its next generation of gaming. The team is "exploring a new and enhanced way for players to engage" with PlayStation, he says, with Sony's SVP of finance and corporate development (Lynn Azar) also mentioning how generations are getting longer with many players still interacting with PS4 these days.
Hideaki Nishino: “While we cannot share further details at this stage, the future of the platform is top of mind. We are committed to exploring a new and enhanced way for players to engage with our content and services.”
Lynn Azar: "We’re still exploring what the future of our platform would look like. So, therefore, whilst we cannot provide any further guidance on operating income in future years [...] we’ve reduced traditional cyclicality, as you describe it, by establishing a large ecosystem of players across both the PS5 and PS4 generations,"
It's true that defined console generations are starting to melt away in the modern era; that's something that Microsoft is also working with right now. Last night, we posted a big report on the team cancelling its next-gen handheld plans to focus on ROG Xbox Ally and whatever the next home console turns out to be - another hint that a 'traditional' console generation could elude us next time around.
Going back to Sony's fresh comments on delivering "new and enhanced" experiences for PS6, that's doesn't sound too dissimilar to what Microsoft said about its next-gen console last year. Xbox President Sarah Bond claimed that the company's Series X successor would provide "the biggest technical leap ever", and we're now starting to question what that actually means. AI? Switching to a more PC-like system? In any case, it's clear that both companies are looking to get creative for the next generation. Interesting times ahead!