Are we console gamers ready for the announcement of the PS5 and Xbox Two? I’m pretty sure that most of us are still having a lot of fun with our PS4’s and Xbox One’s, especially with all the amazing games we have on both consoles. However, as our consoles age, technology advances even further. With that said, one can’t help but wonder if either Sony or Microsoft are already in the final stages of creating their next generation consoles and are just waiting for the go signal from the higherups to make the announcement.
If both Sony and Microsoft announce the PS5 and Xbox Two, then it won’t be long before we get to have a taste of the 9th console generation outside of the Nintendo Switch (although some people are on the fence that it’s an 8th gen console). But one can’t help but wonder if the announcement will be premature, so let’s take a quick look at the previous console generations to see the gap between each of them.
The 1st generation of home consoles started in 1972 with the Magnavox Odyssey. Next up would be the 2nd generation in 1976 with the release of the Fairchild Channel F and Radofin Electronics’ 1292 Advanced Programmable Video System. The 3rd generation came in 1983 (AKA the 8-bit era) with the Japanese release of the Famicom. Up next would be the 4th generation (16-bit era) in the year 1987 with the Japanese release of NEC Home Electronics’ PC Engine, which was then followed by the 5th generation in 1993 with one of the best selling consoles of all time, the PS1. 1998 marked the arrival of the 6th generation where we got to try out the Sega Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Microsoft Xbox. The 7th generation came around 2005 with the Xbox 360 leading the way. And lastly, our current generation, the 8th generation, started in 2012 with the introduction of the Wii U.
So let’s take a look at the gap of the years from between each of them. Our first gap between the 1st and 2nd generation is only about 4 years, the second gap which is between the 2nd and 3rd generation being around 7 years, the third gap between the 3rd and 4th generation totalling up to around 4 years again, the 4th gap between the 4th and 5th generation being 6 years, the 5th gap between the 5th and 6th generation going for about 5 years, and the 7th and 8th generation gaps nearly around 7 years. With this, one can say that making the announcement just 6 years (or 5 since it’s Sony and Microsoft) since the 8th generation started would still be reasonable and wouldn’t seem necessarily rushed.
However, there are also certain factors that Sony and Microsoft have that would prevent them from making the announcement of their next-generation consoles this year.
1st would have to be that the developers are really focused on the current generation and it would take a lot of time to get used to a new system and start from scratch on how to understand it.
The 2nd reason would be that the market for the current generation is still going as strong as ever, the masses are content and so are the executives, so it’s probably better to just keep the flow as steady as possible as of now.
The 3rd and probably one of the most important reasons would be the big buffers in hardware that Sony and Microsoft gave us just fairly recently. I’m talking about the mid-generation hardware upgrades in the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X. These 2 machines have promised us 4K resolution, but it’s not exactly 4K if it’s just checkerboard rendering but hey, at least it’s better than upscaling (which is still debatable).
The 4th reason would have to be that the developers are still looking for ways to create true native 4K or higher resolutions, while at the same time allowing the processors to create a smoother gaming experience wherein games can run at a stable 60 frames per second at the very least. The consoles should be able to do this while maintaining a small form factor as possible; which will allow us to be able to place the devices on our shelves while emitting as less heat and producing as little sound as possible.
It also doesn’t really help that this is something that the general target market would be heavily expecting. Take note that the resolution and the frames per second can be locked depending on the developers, This means that while the console can potentially achieve 4K native resolution and 60 fps at the bare minimum, it is still up to the developers on what kind of resolution will be displayed and how many frames it will be capped at.
The 5th reason could be that the developers are also trying to make sure that the devices remain relevant in the gaming industry for a good amount of time long while, while also adapting with upcoming trends in terms of technology. What I’m trying to say is that the developers could be trying to make the consoles akin to an open box for people who want to mesh different forms of technology such as VR, AR, or any other form that has yet to be developed.
The 6th and probably the most unlikely reason would be that Sony and Microsoft are trying to find a new angle on their new consoles. An angle that Nintendo almost always seems to be able to find in terms of marketing their consoles (A good example of one nearly hitting that mark being the Wii U). At this point, there’s just no denying the popularity of the Switch and perhaps Sony and Microsoft could be trying to find something to match that angle to help make their next set of consoles even more appealing than Nintendo’s current hybrid device.
With all these possible reasons (and maybe a couple more in which I may have failed to state), it looks like we may have to wait a bit longer for the announcement of both the PS5 and the Xbox Two, but there’s definitely a lot to be excited about if we ever do get that legendary announcement. Hopefully Microsoft doesn’t screw it up like last time.
When these next generation of consoles do come out, we’ll also be expecting another flurry of remasters and maybe even remakes across the board. There’s also a big chance that there are games which are already undergoing development and are being planned for the PS5 and Xbox Two rather than the consoles they were initially planned for release for (looking at you Cyberpunk 2077).
But until we get these announcements, we probably have to get over our scary backlog list first. Even worse if we still have to go through the previous generations.
