We have been reporting quite extensively on particularly the next Xbox recently, with both highly reliable insiders and Microsoft itself fuelling rumours that it will be incredibly powerful hardware. But PlayStation 6 is also on its way, and there are rumours about that too.
One person who should reasonably have some insight is former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida, who for a long time led Sony's Worldwide Studios, among other things. However, he left Sony earlier this year and, as a result, is now more free to express his opinions about the industry in a different way, which is exactly what he did in a Skill Up interview (thanks Eurogamer), where he said that Sony cannot continue as before with PlayStation 6:
"I have zero you know information about their brand but clearly they just cannot do the same thing they have been doing, increasing the graphics power and providing the high-end experiences. You know, they might just do that, but still... that feels like a niche audience right now."
However, he is hopeful that PlayStation's new, somewhat younger management will do something new.
"Up until Jim Ryan, it has always been our generation, the first generation of PlayStation, leading the company. Now [Hideaki] Nishino and Hermen [Hulst] are a much younger generation, so they can do something disruptive; they don't have to follow what [the company has] been doing. It's super interesting their next step."
We can only speculate about what this might be, but there are widespread rumours of a portable PlayStation 6, but it's conceivable that Sony also has other surprises in store. As recently as August, Sony senior vice president Sadahiko Hayakawa said that "we are moving away from a hardware-centric business model more to a platform business that expands the community and increases engagement," which may possibly give clues as to what the company has in mind for the next generation. Regardless, Yoshida has full confidence:
"Sony and Mark Cerny, they are so brilliant in designing and devising, creating systems that people can really enjoy. Hopefully they have been cooking something that we don't know about."