The original PS4 launched in 2013, three years later the PS4 Pro arrives. 2019 would be the absolute earliest for a new generation of hardware to arrive, but both Microsoft and Sony have continually said they see this generation as the longest one yet – both the PS3 and Xbox 360 sat in the market, with no hardware revisions, for six to seven years before being replaced. This would mean a 2019 release would come at just the right time, and it’s more likely a 2020 launch date would fit the cycle Sony wants to promote for this generation.
Another issue is around 4K technologies. Not enough consumers have adopted 4K for Sony to seriously consider it. Microsoft may be going in all guns blazing with the over-powerful Xbox One X, but the PS4 Pro focuses on enhanced 1080p gameplay with 4K capabilities. A PS5 would not only focus on making 4K the norm, but it’d also have to be ready for what comes next – and Gran Turismo developer Polyphony Digital has claimed its next Gran Turismo game for PS5 is 8K ready, suggesting Sony’s new machine will be capable of outputting as such impossibly high resolutions. Those aren’t 2018 components.
