What is the future of gaming? If you'd asked someone ten years ago, the answer would have been very clear. We wait for the next console to launch, it'll bring a big performance boost, then we play with it until another one comes along. Simples.
But, it appears the future may not be so clear nowadays. Cloud gaming is on the rise, but current PlayStation CEO Hideaki Nishino believes that it isn't yet what every gamer wants. "Cloud streaming is progressing well from a technical standpoint, as we have demonstrated with [our] offerings, but end-to-end network stability is not in our control," he said in a business segment meeting (via VGC). "And the higher cost per playtime compared to the traditional console model remains a challenge."
"Our belief is that the majority of players continue to want to experience gaming through local execution without dependency on network conditions. And PS5 and PS5 Pro have validated this thesis, I believe," he continued. "We now have a large ecosystem of highly engaged players across both the PlayStation 5 and the PlayStation 4 generations. So naturally, therefore, there's a huge interest in our next generation console strategy."
While Nishino couldn't say anything about this next generation console, he did say that Sony is looking to find enhanced ways for players to engage with content. It's possible that within the next few years, we'll see more about the possible PlayStation 6. But, with how long the PlayStation 4 has stuck around, we'd be surprised to see the PS5 going anywhere anytime soon.