- Sony confirms PlayStation 6 development, acknowledging it as a priority for the company.
- CEO Hideaki Nishino hints at PS6 as PS5's successor during a June 13 Fireside Chat.
- PS5 Pro launched last November, offering moderate improvements to existing gameplay.
Sony has confirmed that PlayStation 6 (PS6) is "top of mind" of developers as the company plans its new console offering. During a June 13 Fireside Chat, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO and president Hideaki Nishino dropped the hint, making it the first time that the company admitted to PS5's successor.
While PS5 was launched five years ago, Sony launched PS5 Pro in November last year with moderate improvements to gameplay.
"Our console business has evolved into a multi-faceted platform, and we now have a large ecosystem of highly engaged players across both the PS5 and PS4 generations, so naturally therefore, there's a huge interest in our next generation console strategy," Mr Nishino said, as per IGN.
"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 our services," he added.
As for the future of gaming, particularly cloud gaming, Mr Nishino reaffirmed the importance of PlayStation consoles.
"The business model for cloud gaming must be sustainable for the longer-term gross. Cloud gaming is progressing well from a technical standpoint, we have demonstrated with these offerings, but end-to-end network stability is not in our control. And the higher cost per playtime compared to the traditional console model remains a challenge," said Mr Nishino.
"Cloud gaming is increasingly providing additional options for players to access content, but our belief is that the majority of players continue to want to experience gaming through local execution without dependency on local network conditions. And PS5 and PS5 Pro have validated this thesis, I believe."
Also Read | Barbie-Maker Mattel To Use ChatGPT To Design New Toys
Social media reacts
Reacting to the news of a potential PS6 in the works, social media users were divided, with some saying Sony had not provided enough PS5 exclusive games, while others said the console was still new.
"PS5 has been out for less than 5 years, and now they wanna drop PS6???" said one user while another added: "PS5 has barely had any great PS5 ONLY games. It's been a remaster machine."
A third commented: "Sony should seriously focus on bringing as many single-player titles as possible with PS6. No more remasters or live-service."
