SCE Exec Rekindles PlayStation 5 Rumors; Next Generation Sony Console In The Cloud? Digital Distribution Platform Expected To Launch Sooner Than Expected, PS5 Merely A Supplement To Online Service?
Update on PlayStation 5 rumors: an SCE exec thinks the PS5 could be released in the cloud.
Sony Computer Entertainment Executive Vice President Masayasu Ito rekindles PlayStation 5 rumors, saying the next generation of the console could be in the cloud, the physical unit serves as distribution platform.
Rumors of the PlayStation 5 cloud have been circulating for some time now, but Ito's comment gives credit to hearsay, considering the gaming industry's shift from physical releases of games to online launches and DLCs.
In the online Nikkei Shinbun, Ito comments: "I think there will be a PS5. However, I don't know what form it'll have. It could be a physical console, or it could be in the cloud. But even if the form might change, PS5 Games will be born. This is what we want." (dualshockers.com)
Earlier in June, President of Sony Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida said its cloud gaming service PlayStation Now is the company's shift to being service-oriented, and that Sony is keeping its options wide open when it comes to the next generations of consoles.
"It's really up to the game creators. If they still feel that we need more machine power - 'We want to realize this and that and that, but we cannot do [it] with PS4′ - if that's the case, there's a good reason to have PS5, so that developers can create their vision. So, we'll see." (inquisitr.com)
The PlayStation 5 rumors of online distribution means the console won't be spec-heavy; AMD CFO Devinder Kumar says the next generation of Xbox and PlayStation consoles could also arrive sooner than expected.
"The life cycle of the products are probably going to be shorter. Our customers are already thinking about what comes next. These are long life cycle products and as you know in the semi-custom space, you start with - three years before you introduce a product, a decision is made to use a particular company. In this case it was AMD.
And then you go ahead and co-develop the product with the funding dollars frankly, mostly coming from our customers. And then when you introduce the product, there is really no expenses from R&D standpoint, no sales and marketing dollars and whatever dollars you generate from a gross margin dollar standpoint, falls to the bottom-line and that's what excites us."
The next generation console could be a supplement to the PlayStation 5 cloud service, a platform which receives video and sound from a server.
