PlayStation 6 to be delayed 'longer than expected,' analyst predicts

Global economic and market disruptions lead key analysts to believe Sony will delay its next-gen PlayStation 6 console and elongate the PS5 lifespan.

PlayStation 6 to be delayed 'longer than expected,' analyst predicts
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Senior Gaming Editor
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TL;DR: Sony is expected to delay the PlayStation 6 release due to ongoing chip shortages and supply chain challenges, extending the PS5 lifecycle potentially until 2030. The next-gen PS6 will feature advanced technologies like Radiance Cores, Neural Arrays, and AI-enabled custom chips developed with AMD for enhanced performance.

Sony's next-gen PlayStation 6 won't be out for a while--longer than gamers are expecting, one analyst predicts.

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Right now isn't a great time to produce a major video games console. Hungry AI datacenters are eating up the critical memory and storage chips needed to make PlayStation consoles, and while Sony says it has procured short-term supply, what does the future look like? Will these shortages impact PlayStation 6 production?

Mindful of these disruptions, analysts predict that Sony could delay the PS6 console and elongate the current PS5 lifecycle. Indeed, that does seem to be what Sony is doing; company CFO Lin Tao says that the PS5 is currently in "the middle of its journey," indicating the PS5 could be supported until 2030. Does that mean gamers will have to wait until 2030 for the PS6, though?

No one knows for sure, but MST Financial analyst David Gibson, who has spent decades cataloging the industry, says that PlayStation gamers should be prepared to wait longer than usual for the next-gen PlayStation 6.

In a research note for Sandstone Insight Japan, Gibson lays out his predictions for Sony's incoming Q3 results as well as some general observations.

Gaming division continues to perform well in Q3: Sony's third-quarter results are expected to beat market expectations, driven by sales of both in-house and third-party games.

PlayStation Lifecycle Extended: Sony expects the PS5's lifecycle to be extended, and the PS6's release is likely to be delayed longer than many expected.

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Sony hasn't commented on the PlayStation 6, however the company's technical wiz Mark Cerny has divulged key details about what's next for the PlayStation.

The new PS6 console will feature at least three new technologies (possibly more): Radiance Cores, Neural Arrays, and Universal Compression:

  • Neural Arrays - Connects GPU Compute Units together for more performance through maximized efficiency
  • Radiance Cores - Built onto chip, handles ray tracing features, frees up CPU and offers "significant speed boost."
  • Universal Compression - Ambitious new tech that analyzes all data, and compresses all data where it can.

Sony has also confirmed that the next-gen PS6 will have an AI-enabled chip with custom SoC silicon designed by Sony and AMD.

The two companies are working closely to create a next-gen asset library to power the future of upscaling technology in a venture called Project Amethyst, and the fruits of that combination have led to significant advancements in Sony's own in-house console-level upscaler, PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, which will continue to evolve over time.

It was believed that the PS6 could be out by 2027 or 2028, and court filings in the FTC v Microsoft case reveal that Microsoft and Sony certainly thought that was the timeline at the time...but a lot can change in just a few years, and the market for chips and components is much different than it was then.