Let's Talk About those 3 rumoured PS5 consoles

From a new sku, to more power, to a new handheld.

Credit for handheld model mockup: TCMFGames on Twitter.

Here I was, thinking that the age of the Switch and the recent rumblings of Nintendo's next-generation hardware meant that all those tiring rumours about a 'Pro' console coming would be behind me. Well, the joke's on me. The rumours surrounding a Switch Pro might be over and done with but the rumours about a PS5 Pro are just starting up. Hooray!?

But wait, there´s more! Not only is the PS5 revision still being talked about, but just last week, a new Sony handheld entered the fray. I might be tired of all of these console rumours but they are interesting. I do have some thoughts about these 3 consoles that do make me want to seize this opportunity to throw them out here.

Without further ado, let's dive in!

1. The detatchable disc-drive PS5

Update: through a blogpost, Sony confirmed the existence of this PS5 revision, setting it for a November 2023 release. 

Let's start with the first of the 3 rumoured consoles, the new PS5 model. I've already discussed this new model before so I won't into many details here. Late last year news broke that Sony is planning a PS5 revision. This revision would be smaller, lighter and cheaper to produce. It would forego the current 2 SKU models, the all-digital and physical PS5s, and be just one model. For an all-digital PS5, you could attach an external disc drive to make it play physical discs. It's said Sony aims to launch this revision in September of this year, phasing out the current PS5 models from that point onwards.

I'm a bit apprehensive, but most positive about this idea. I don't like the shift to the 'all-digital' future for a variety of reasons, control my games for starters, but it is what it is. In a world where a digital-only console is a standard, I'm glad that there's still an option to make it play discs. Also means that anyone who bought a current all-digital and regrets it could always buy the disc drive later. And replace it when it breaks. Much cheaper than sending in the entire console for repairs. Also, Also, the current PS5 is quite the beast. A smaller, slimmer version wouldn't be an unnecessary luxury.

So yeah, a revision I can dig.

The thumbnail of my post about the detachable disc-drive PS5. Figured I'd get some extra use out of it.

2. The PS5 Pro

The 2nd rumour is the one that I get, but I think is just too soon. The PS5 Pro. Just like Sony (and Xbox) did in the eighth generation. A more powerful, mid-generation refresh to improve on what is there and give the console a 2nd wind. The pattern they set there would fit the rumours. The PS4 Pro launched 3 years after the launch and the PS5 Pro would come out in 2024, 3 years or so after the 2021 PS5 launch. While it worked out for Sony back then, the PS4 Pro sold very well with its 4K and increased processing power, I don't think a PS5 Pro in 2024 would be another success story. The industry just isn't in a good spot for it.

Yes, the PS5 has been out for over 2 years now, but it doesn't feel like that at all. The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S have both struggled with supply in these first 2 years. Getting one was an entire quest in and of itself. Only now, in 2023, is the PS5 becoming readily available at major retailers and in brick-and-mortar stores. You can see that in the charts, PS5 sales were up 180% in Q1 2023 compared to Q1 2022, and in stores where you can now just see them sitting on the shelf.

This period of scarcity lasted so long though, that the idea that the console is hard to go get still lingers with the general public. I even had a conversation with a GameMania employee about it. That they're still getting those same calls asking them if they have it and/or when they think they'll have it in stock. Those same surprised faces when someone sees them for sale in the store. By the time this hypothetical PS5 Pro would launch, to a lot of people, their PS5 will only be around a year old and a PS5 Pro won't be appealing to them. On the contrary, they might feel they've been done dirty when Sony 'replaces' the PS5 so soon after they finally got their hands on it.

Another factor in this sense is that Sony hasn't given the PS5 the time to shine as its premiere console yet. The cross-generation period has lasted quite long for Sony standards. I can´t think of any 1st party PS5 retail title aside from Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart that doesn't also have a PS5. Games as recent as Resident Evil 4 Remake also launched for the PS4, keeping this long cross-generation period going.

Sony is starting to cut off the PS4, Horizon Forbidden West's DLC, Burning Shores, is PS5 only and they've made it clear that future titles like Spider-Man 2 won't have any last-gen versions, but that only underscores how much the PS4 has been holding back these titles. RE4 on PS4, as far as I've heard, doesn't run well at all. Just looking at the Burning Shores pre-release material shows how many things Guerilla had to cut from Forbidden West because they couldn't also make it work on the old PS4. Why release a more powerful PS5 when the PS5 hasn't actually been pushed to its limits yet?

Then there's the 4K/8K situation. A big factor in releasing the PS4 Pro was so to make the console compatible with 4K televisions (which Sony also produces models off). 4K were making their way into more and more homes so launching a console compatible with this new resolution standard made sense and became a big selling point. 8K is nowhere near in the same position so releasing a PS5 to really make use of 8K doesn't seem like the best idea.

Combine these factors and I, a fan without any business experience mind you, think that a PS5 Pro in 2024 is too early and unnecessary and might even hurt Sony.

3. The PS5 Handheld

Update: in the May 2023 PlaySation showcase the streaming handheld device 'Project Q', later renamed to the PlayStation Portal and priced at 200 dollars, was revealed. It's basically what I described below. 

The 3rd and last rumoured PS5-related console is a brand-new PlayStation Handheld. Sort off. This isn't a 'PS Vita 2' but a streaming handheld all about PS5 remote play. The PS5's remote play feature, where your PS5 will stream your game over the internet to another device such as your tablet or phone, is probably one of its most forgotten features just behind the activity cards. It's a feature that Sony has had ever since the PS Vita. That console can connect with the PS3 and PS4 and, under certain conditions, you could continue playing your PS3/PS4 games on your Vita. It's something that never really caught on, though not for lack of trying though, as this hypothetical new handheld would show.

I'm not as negative about this idea as a PS5 Pro in 2024 but I nonetheless don't really get the appeal. If these leaks/rumours are true the device will have a very limited function. The way PS remote play works is that you need to connect a device, through the remote play app, to your PS4/5 and if have an internet connection that matches the requirements you can play God of War Ragnarök on your phone, your laptop etc. Basically, this device would be that 'Backbone One' phone attachment pictured below but fancier and with a screen, speakers and everything else needed to make the device work.

The Backbone One, Sony's officially licensed PlayStation controller for mobile devices. That sentence sure made me sound like a marketing guy!

The market for such a console is just so narrow. This handheld device would be, because of the streaming, mostly home-bound unless the place you are has some very good Wi-Fi that fits the high requirements while you're away. Why would you buy a handheld console that you wouldn't be able to take on the go? Why buy an expensive console when you can achieve the same effect with your phone and a simple attachment? Why would you create such a device, to begin with? Because you want to give people a better screen, sound and controller quality? Would that be worth creating a brand new handheld around when it will only really be appealing to only a small fraction of PS5-owners?

For now, I digress. The point is that I don't see this console selling well at all if it keeps this limited scope. They'd need to either make this handheld very cheap or, even better, add a lot more functionality. Allow it to interact with other game streaming services, set up your own PS streaming service that doesn't require a PS5 (though that could undercut the PS5 itself) or allow the device to download and install certain games. Think Indies with lesser tech requirements or PS1, PS2 and PSP and Vita games from PS Plus.

..........

So yeah, quite a few PlayStation devices are currently a part of the rumour machine. Some I like, some I don't. Some I think are a good idea, others I think are not. The only thing to do now though is waiting. Wait until more, official news comes out about these consoles. And I don't think we'll have to wait long for it. Both the detatchable disc-drive PS5 and the new streaming handheld are dated in these rumours: this year and November respectively. So, if they are true, we'll hear about it by summer. Going to be an interesting year, that's for sure!