Sony has just fully revealed the PS5 Pro, showing off the power of its mid-generation upgrade, but some intriguing details about the next hardware iteration, the PS6, have now emerged.
Very little information has been released about the new console, but thanks to Reuters we’ve got a look at one feature in particular.
This is backwards compatibility, something Sony has certainly overlooked until now.
According to ReutersIntel has “lost the contract to design and manufacture Sony’s PlayStation 6 chips in 2022” to AMD, dramatically impacting “Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger’s turnaround plans.”
This is obviously a big blow for the tech giant, but it could be a big win for gamers.
This is because both the PS5 and PS5 Pro consoles use the aforementioned AMD chips, making this at least one commonality between the current internals and the PS6.
“Intel would have jeopardized backward compatibility of future hardware,” he said, stating that “this was a subject of discussion between Intel and Sony,” suggesting that Sony is aware of its failures during the PS3 era, for example.
It remains to be seen what sort of backward compatibility will be introduced, but one thing is for sure: if Reuters’ information above is correct, we’ll be able to play PS5 titles on the PS6.
There are obviously economies of scale at play here as well, but they’ve used the same chip supplier for multiple years and various hardware iterations, so incorporating that now and into the future will be key to competing with Xbox.
That’s because Xbox has been pushing backwards compatibility for some time, using it as one of the main reasons to buy a Series X|S, for example.
The library of playable titles for the Xbox 360 and the original Xbox is incredibly extensive, which is a big selling point for parents who want to introduce younger generations to retro gaming or play secretly.
While it still seems like a challenge for Sony to make their console fully backwards compatible with all generations, it’s good to know that efforts are being made to future-proof this with their deal with AMD.
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