Sony PlayStation is still riding high with the PS4 and PS4 Pro line of consoles in 2018.
However, recent reports suggest that Sony could be cooking up a massive shock reveal, potentially in 2018.
One of the very first PS5 release date predictions were made for this year and now more rumours have surfaced that back it up further.
A prediction made by an industry analyst suggested that the leading Japanese tech company’s next console could put it on a direct collision course with the Xbox One X and Nintendo Switch.
Microsoft’s Xbox One X arrived late in 2017, offering a performance boost for current games, as well as 4K gameplay.
It’s main selling point is its impressive specs, which put it out in front of its PS4 Pro rival by some margin.
The Nintendo Switch, meanwhile, arrived in March 2017 and continues to sell very well.
It has a different selling point to the Xbox One X, providing gaming on the go, while also allowing fans to link up the portable device to their TV.
It’s a best of both worlds scenario which forgets graphical prowess and endorses the idea of it being a secondary device that hardcore gamers can enjoy.
And a recent Nintendo Direct confirmed that new games like Super Smash Bros are likely to push sales even further in 2018.
However, while the Xbox One X and Nintendo Switch are not rivals in the traditional sense, they could be linked by the release of a new PS5-style console in 2019.
Macquarie Capital Securities analyst Damian Thong predicts Sony will release its next-generation PlayStation by the second half of 2018.
The claim isn’t naming the new console as the PS5 and isn’t necessarily based on any kind of insider information, but it should be noted that Thong correctly predicted both the PS4 Pro and Slim before their announcements.
Sony provided a long build up for the launch of the PS4, announcing it nine months before its prospective release.
Could this mean we could hear something before the end of 2018?
It’s a possibility, especially with the latest rumour released this week.
The latest is that Sony have already sent out PS5 dev kits to third party game developers.
This reportedly happened earlier this year and could be a sign that Sony will announce something late in 2018.
The source of the information is video games journalist, Marcus Sellars, who has leaked other big pieces of news recently.
One of was the announcement of a new Nintendo Direct, with Crash Bandicoot as a one of the titles featured.
As always, these rumours should be taken with a big pinch of salt, although there not the only big PS5 news this week.
Sony could launch the PS5 with backwards compatibility for PS4 games, if a new patent is anything to go by.
Sony Interactive Entertainment America last month updated a US patent which could indicate that the PS5 will be able to play PS4 games.
The patent looks like it was originally filed in 2015, a few years after the launch of the PS4.
The PS4 can only play PS3 games via the PlayStation Now service.
But the patent has been updated to say: “Backward compatibility testing of software in a mode that disrupts timing.”
While it doesn’t confirm the PS5 will play PS4 games, it could show Sony are conducting backwards compatibility testing.
The patent also lists the name of Mark Cerny, the lead architect and producer of the PS4.
It remains to be seen whether the PS5 will support backwards compatibility for PS4 games.
Jim Ryan, deputy president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, previously said that backwards compatibility wasn’t a feature that players tended to use.