If they were to launch the PS5 soon, it might not cut into the PS4 as much as people think IF the PS4 gets a decent price drop. The PS2 continued to sell incredibly well even after the PS3 was out. Of course, I don't believe a PS5 would come out this year, but I could end up being wrong.

No, these are clearly early-early kits. The mass number being sent out might moreso be Sony's way of trying to get a killer app on day one (though let's be honest: if Shadows Die Twice is a new PS5 exclusive Soulsborne, we're going to get a lot PS5's sold).

Even if its 2019, that is still early.

I have relly hard time seeing PS5 releasing this year, but next year is totally different story.

Lol at anyone who thinks ps5 will be released before the end of 2019 maybe even end of 2020.

Hell freaking noo!

they didn't prematurely launch it. thats subjective.  they overengineerd it  in wrong areas. 

it came out a year after 360 and was slower. 

I'm #Team2020  

SemiAccurate mentioning PS4.1/2/3 makes me wonder a little. The "not specifically using Navi" also makes me wonder if it's Vega with some Navi baked in, just like Polaris with Vega baked in on Pro. They make sure to mention hold off on that XB1X if your buying in the next few months. E3 2018 announcement?

PS did say they had a beefier Neo prototype using Ryzen, but they chose to go with Pro as is, for the late 2016 launch. I would have to assume that means the beefier version would have had a 14nm Ryzen CPU and a separate GPU, if it was going to launch at the same time as XB1X, holiday 2017. Who is to say that PS didn't go back to the drawing board, make some upgrades, and beef up the Ryzen version, so that it ends up with 12GB RAM, 8-10TF, and VR built in? 7nm Vega is supposed to be available late 2018, even if they aren't consumer grade Radeon cards. 

With a holiday 2018 launch, they could have a $249 PS4, $349 Pro, and $499 Premium. They could also potentially just flat out drop the existing Pro, and call the new model Pro. At those specs I don't see it coming in under $499, and even then they might be taking a hit on each unit sold.

If they were thinking of trying to one up the XB1X, then these specs would be the next logical step for late 2018. The 8 core Ryzen would be overkill, other than if PS was thinking ahead to easier PS5 compatibility. Otherwise a 6 or even 4 core Ryzen would suffice for a PS4 family model, making the $499 cost more realistic.

Either that, or the launch date is wrong. Holiday 2019 PS5 launch, at the earliest, close to these specs, for $399, based on the rumor.

There are several reasons why I don't believe that the the PS5 will launch in 2018:
- PS4 is currently the best selling console.
- Microsoft, their main competitor, is struggling getting even close to their sells.
- GTA 6 will first launch on PS4/XB1 and later at or after launch of the new consoles. I am sure that Rockstar knows when these next consoles of Sony and Microsoft will launch. Since RDR 2 is launching in 2018, I expect GTA6 to launch in 2019 (spring) and that the new consoles will launch earliest in fall 2019 (I think it will be 2020).

I could see that they include VR in every PS5 but only if the price of the PS5 isn't increasing a lot (they wont make the same mistake as Microsoft with the launch of the XB1 with Kinect). Otherwise VR will stay optional.

In German there is an idiom: "Schuster bleib bei deinen Leisten." This idiom translates to English: "let the cobbler stick to his last". My advise to Sony: Focus on your core competence and your clients will be satisfied. Don't get to caught up on any gimmicks and just deliver good functioning gaming console with current graphics and strong exclusive games.

2018 is kind of s silly conclusion considering dev kits are always out in the wild and reported on well over a year before a console launches.