Ex-PlayStation boss says next-gen PlayStation 6 won't be completely discless

Sony's next-generation PlayStation 6 console won't be completely discless according to former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden, as Sony has a huge global market that still wants physical games.

(comments on discless PS6 console start at the 37-minute mark)

In a new interview with KiwiTalks, Layden talked about the PS6 saying that he doesn't think the company can get away with releasing its next-gen PlayStation 6 console in discless form. He said that Microsoft has had success with Xbox and moving discless in particular countries like the United States, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, where gamers have internet connections that allow for digital games... but Sony has a huge global market that won't gel well with discless PS6 gaming.

Layden said: "actually, I don't think Sony can get away with it now. I think, you know, Xbox has had more success in pursuing that strategy, but Xbox is really most successful in their business... in a clutch of countries. US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa".

He continued: "not coincidentally enough, not all English-speaking countries. Sony, which is the number one platform in probably 170 countries around the world, has an obligation or responsibility to say 'if we go discless, how much of my market is not able to make that jump'... can users in Italy get a decent connection to enjoy games".

• Read more: PlayStation 6 SoC is 'design complete' says leaker: AMD Zen 5 with X3D cache, next-gen UDNA GPU

"One thing I didn't realize when we talked about this with PlayStation 4 -- about going discless -- one person said 'one of -- not the biggest -- but there is a significant market for PlayStation consoles with athletes, like to take them (PlayStation consoles) with them, because they have so much downtime in hotels before their game, and they're not supposed to go out drinking or carousing, you know 'stay in your room it's curfew 10PM before game time".

• Read more: PlayStation 6 rumor: AMD Zen 5 CPU with X3D cache, next-gen UDNA GPU
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• Read more: PlayStation 6 rumor: next-gen UDNA GPU from AMD, probably Zen 5 CPU too
• Read more: AMD's next-gen UDNA GPU: Radeon 'big core flagship is back' on TSMC N3E node
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• Read more: AMD reportedly got the contract to build a chip for Sony's next-gen PlayStation 6

"They're all taking their consoles with them, actually there's a huge market... um, PlayStation is very popular on military bases around the world... places where you know, you can't get internet connections. So, the ability to go to discless solution is really, the key points of that is which part of your market cannot be served by that, which part of your market will be damaged by going a discless market. I'm sure they're doing the research on it, there will be a tipping point where there's some percentage where you can say 'okay, that's fine... we can turn our back on that part of the market'. But, Sony's market is globally so huge... I think it'll be hard for them to go fully discless even with the next generation".

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PlayStation 6 leaks so far:

Won't be completely discless: Sony's next-gen PlayStation 6 console won't be completely discless according to ex-PlayStation boss, which is good news as the PS5 Pro is a discless console... and not a future we want to see just yet.

AMD semi-custom APU: Sony's new PlayStation 6 console will have a semi-custom APU from AMD, fabbed by TSMC, with a Zen 5 CPU + UDNA GPU. Intel had the opportunity to make the PS6 chip but lost the bid to AMD back in 2022, which would've been a huge win for Intel had it been successful in making Sony's next-gen PS6 processor.

Zen 5 CPU: We'll probably see an 8-core, 16-thread CPU based on the Zen 5 architecture, an upgrade over the Zen 2 architecture inside of the PS5. A faster Zen 5-based 8C/16T processor inside of the PS6 boosting at higher clock speeds, made on TSMC's latest process node.

UDNA GPU: AMD's next-gen RDNA 5 GPU architecture was recently renamed UDNA, with the PS6 console to feature a UDNA-based GPU on the semi-custom APU, on TSMC's newer N3E process node.

X3D cache: The latest leaks suggest that Sony would be slapping a layer of 3D V-Cache onto the PS6 chip, with Zen 5 + X3D making for a potent combo with performance that should hopefully match AMD's new desktop Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor (8C/16T + X3D cache).

4K 120FPS + 8K 60FPS gaming: Sony's next-gen PlayStation 6 should be capable of 4K 120FPS, matching PC gamers' experience from the last few years, while 8K 60FPS gaming shouldn't be too hard considering the CPU + GPU power, as well as the AI upscaling through PSSR.

PSSR + FSR 4: We saw the debut of PSSR -- PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution -- an AI-powered upscaling solution that should be heavily upgraded for the PS6, especially now that UDNA is in the works and should have FSR 5 upscaling technology by 2027.