What should Sony do for the next Playstation?

[EricHiggin]

curl-6 said:

EricHiggin said:

If both PS6's were the same internal hardware, same clocks, then that means only like 2.5 systems to dev for. PS6 would all be identical, and PS5 and PS5 Pro are like 1.5 systems since they're so similar. 

If both PS7's were the same internal hardware, same clocks, then that means only 2 systems to dev for in the future.

With the way prices are now, if SNY stays with the same hardware business model, then cross gen will likely become an even bigger thing. Many gamers are likely going to stay on their PS5's for as long as possible. How many PS5 gamers would transition to the PS6 handheld? How many would be willing to pay $699-$899 for the (high end) console?

If SNY decided to launch a PS6 Lite as well, assuming it's the same internal hardware as the handheld, same clocks, then that's not a problem for devs at all, but it is a burden for SNY if they keep PS5 around, because that's 5 systems to confuse consumers. SNY would almost certainly have to discontinue PS5 and PS5 Pro as soon as next gen started.

If SNY does have 3 SKU's for PS6, then what do they do come mid gen? Launch a PS6 Pro console? Have 4 consoles available at once, or drop the high end PS6 and replace it with the PS6 Pro? When do you launch that Pro console if you're going to, and how long does this gen last, with or without the Pro model?

Launching a PS7 just 5 years later doesn't solve any of these conundrums though.

It does if you keep the hardware at a reasonably low cost. Which would be easy to do if the handheld and console shared internal hardware.

You may have to wait for many PS5 gamers to skip PS6 and upgrade to PS7 in this case, but at that time you'll still have great sales between both PS6 and PS7 and you'll have far easier development for those 2 systems, since there's really only 2 pieces of hardware to dev for even though there's 4 retail systems on shelves.

This should certainly help when it comes to game development and getting games out sooner than later, which is becoming more and more of a problem, along with rising software prices.

PS6 is already going to be a bit of a different business model to begin with based on the leaks so far. A handheld and home console, that shares a library.

The only way I see PS6 selling well overall based on the leaks, is if the PS6 handheld is heavily subsidized (assuming there's no PS6 Lite), or if they also launch a PS6 Lite for as cheap as possible.

If the PS6 Lite doesn't exist, or the handheld isn't cheap enough, plenty of PS5 gamers won't transition because the PS6 main console will be too expensive. PS4 gamers still won't transition to PS6. Plenty of new consumers won't buy into PS6 because they won't be able to afford to. This would be a bad situation for SNY.