PlayStation 5: 8 Massive Rumours You Need To Know

By Michael Pearson / January 9, 2016

Sony sold more than 5.7 million PlayStation 4s during 2015's holiday season, totalling around 35.9 million units across the globe. It certainly doesn't feel like momentum is slowing down, but only thee years after its release, rumours are still gathering about its successor.

Sony's software product development head Scott Rhode told MTV in 2014, "Very soon we'll start thinking about what we'll do next. That's the culture at Sony. We always have to do something that's bigger and better than what's already been done." Then, Sony UK boss Fergal Gara added at a press conference, "It's probably a sign of the times and how much has changed in seven years, but I think the willingness and the appetite to pick up new technology fast has probably changed quite a bit."

Sure, Sony have been vocal about putting their weight behind the PS4 for the next few years, but that doesn't mean they aren't already assembling plans for the next platform. In 2013, Mark Cerny, lead system architect for the PS4 said that development for that console started 'about five years ago'. This means that the first concepts of the PS4 were being discussed in 2008 - only two years after the release of the PS3.

If you apply that same working pattern to the production of the PS5, then Sony have already begun looking towards the next generation, with some of the biggest rumours so far sounding mighty appealing.

8. It Could Be Here Sooner Than You Think

With the rising speed of various advancements such as virtual reality and 4K resolutions, it's fair to say that these new consoles could be coming sooner rather than later. Sony is making plans to put its own PS VR headset into practice across 2016, making it evermore clear the gaming world is stepping up with their innovations, despite the current consoles not being able to handle them out the box.

Not only that, but Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) - the company that built the Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) around the architecture inside the PlayStation 4 - are rumoured to be appealing to Sony and Microsoft with its next generation chipsets; ones that can handle both 4K and VR gaming with ease. This would benefit the future of the new consoles by making the PS5 five times the performance per watt than what the PS4 can handle. Sony Computer Entertainment UK boss Fergal Gara said in 2013 that there are "reasons to believe that the next cycle might be shorter in markets such as the UK [...] It's probably a sign of the times and how much has changed in seven years, but I think the willingness and the appetite to pick up new technology fast has probably changed quite a bit."