There is much speculation over what is coming to replace Sony’s PS4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One consoles.
So far, there has been news that suggests an announcement is being primed for 2019, which will be a welcome update for many console owners.
And if the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Two are being announced in the coming months, it would make sense that the PlayStation 5 will launch in either early 2020 or late 2019.
And there has been both good and bad news this week for those PS4 and Xbox One gamers waiting on those big announcements.
The good news is that more reports have appeared that suggest the PS5 release date will be announced in 2019.
The bad news is that won’t be coming any time soon.
According to one online source, Sony is planning to host an event which will showcase the PlayStation 5.
But this won’t happen until “mid-2019” suggesting a date before E3. It should also be noted that Sony won’t be part of the big LA expo.
The company is planning their own events in 2019 that won’t be hosted in the weeks leading up, or following E3 2019.
So a mini event in May could be on the cards, meaning a longer wait than some fans may have anticipated.
Sony has hinted that they will be hosting more than one event this year, so we could see something drop in May focusing on the PS5, followed by a larger convention, looking at games and supporting devices.
There’s also been plenty of good news this week that suggests the PS5 could include a great fan-favourite feature.
There have been several hints that PS4 backwards compatibility will be included in the PlayStation 5.
Sony patents pointing to such a feature have been found, making fans excited that they will be able to play their favourite PS4 exclusives on their next-gen machine.
The patent was filed privately and contains interesting language, including the title “Remastering by emulation”.
The patent language reads: “Each asset such as a texture called for by legacy software such as a legacy computer game software has a unique identifier associated with it.
“The unique identifier can be rendered by imposing a hash on the asset, and then the asset stored with its identifier in a data structure. An artist remasters the textures for presentation on a higher resolution display than envisioned in the original software, and stores them back in the data structure with their identifiers.
“The original software is then played on the higher resolution display, with asset (such as texture) calls being intercepted, identified, and the data structure entered to retrieve the remastered asset having a matching identifier.
“The remastered asset is then inserted on the fly into the game presentation.”
But there is one game that doesn’t look like it will be included, as a newly remastered version is reportedly coming to PS5.
According to the latest rumours, Red Dead Redemption 2 will be getting a serious upgrade on next-gen hardware.
This will likely coincide with the game being ported to PC, as well as a new version being launched on the next wave of consoles.
A new online “source” says that an RDR2 upgrade for the PS5 and Xbox Two could be ready by 2020.
It should be noted that this news doesn’t come from either company and means that it needs to be taken with a big pinch of salt.
But if this proves true, it would certainly prove popular with those interested in buying a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Two.
Red Dead Redemption 2 has sold more than 17 million copies to retailers since the game launched.
This puts RDR2 in front of the original Red Dead Redemption in lifetime sales already, quite the feat for its first month on shelves.
So having an upgraded version of one of the hottest games around would probably help sell fans on the new consoles too.
Other predictions claim the PS5 could launch next year, with respected analysts Ace Securities saying it could be “introduced” by the end of 2019.
It’s also worth considering just how popular the PS4 and PS4 Pro consoles have proven with gamers, with over 86 million units sold so far.
Sony has even updated their profits forecast due to the success of the PlayStation brand, which has been driven by hardware sales and the PS Plus subscription service.