The PlayStation 6 is probably still a good three to four years away. Before we get there, the PlayStation 5 will be getting an upgrade, with the PS5 Pro. Still, now is about the time that people really start to speculate about what sort of features you can expect in the next generation of consoles, and we’ll share what we hope will be hitting the PlayStation 6. Although, there’s very little information out there (if any) on what the PS6 will bring to the table. So, this is mostly speculation, but we reckon we’ll be right on a few things.
Better VR capabilities
It is no secret that Sony’s VR version 2 hasn’t been doing too well. The last report indicated they had stopped production to try and shift some of their old stock. However, it is clear that Sony sees VR as the future, and they’ll do everything to make it stick. So, we wouldn’t be surprised if the PS6 had some sort of VR capabilities included as standard. We also wouldn’t be surprised if every single game that releases on the PS6 is required to have some sort of VR functionality.
If Sony put in the effort, they could potentially make VR stick. In fact, they could even include it for the apps on their console, mostly so we can play casino games like Reactoonz in VR. Although, we suppose that Sony would run the risk of it not being successful, and they may just end up with an overly expensive console (kind of like what helped to kill the Xbox One for a short period).
Built-in wireless charging
Sony seems committed to not having removable batteries on their controllers, so we wouldn’t be surprised if Sony used the PS6 to push this even further. This means inbuilt wireless charging on the PS6. We suppose it would make it a little bit easier for people to charge their Sony devices, and people love convenience.
The only thing that we do wonder about is how the wireless charging would be implemented. At the moment, we have a vision of a small pad for the PS6 that you can place your device on and have it charge. However, who knows – tech may be at the point where later on, you could hold the controller in your hand and have it charge it wirelessly while you play. Although, we don’t think tech is as close to that as it really needs to be.
Still, there will likely be some form of wireless charging, and a lot of people have been talking about how they feel this may be one of the better additions to the PlayStation 6, so we’re interested to see what Sony does with that information.
Better backwards compatibility
Because of the way they designed the PS3, Sony has lagged somewhat when it comes to backwards compatibility – at least in comparison to Microsoft and Nintendo. However, many people anticipate that this is something that will end up changing when the PlayStation 6 releases.
We reckon (or hope) that backwards compatibility will improve. There may even be enough ‘juice’ with the PlayStation 6 that it can start to emulate PS3 games a little better, negating the need to stream them. Everyone enjoys playing older games on a newer console, so this would be a big win if they could get it right.
What we are hoping for, however, is a shake-up with how Sony handles cross-generation games. If you play on Xbox, you automatically get an upgraded version for the next generation (assuming it is available), while with many of the games released on Sony’s console, you’ll need to pay for it. The hope is that Sony will go down the route of Microsoft here, making it far, far easier to carry games from generation to generation.
Modular upgrades
This is something that hardware manufacturers have been talking about for a while. The PS6 could be the generation where we finally see it happen.
Modular upgrades allow for the upgrade of the console. For example, you could switch out the graphics card by removing a little box (the upgrades are simple). This should negate the need for mid-generational refreshes, although there is the downside of developers needing to optimize their console for different combinations of hardware, so don’t expect a huge push towards massive modular upgrades.
We do believe that this is something that would work well with memory upgrades, or even storage upgrades. Sony could probably make some extra cash with this, since we all know that there are people out there who will spend huge amounts of cash making their console the best it can be.
More power
This is something that will probably go without saying, but let’s be honest, most people who are waiting for the PS6 are looking for more power. They want their games to look better. They want their games to be loaded with more features. They want the games to load up quicker, or even run smoother.
There wasn’t a massive change between the PS4 and PS5, but we are hoping that there will be a significant change when the PS6 rolls around, perhaps because most of the developers for the format won’t be hindered by that little thing called Covid getting in the way of making their games the best they possibly could be.
Final thoughts – what you can expect from the PS6
As the PS6 is still a long way off, it is really tough to know what to expect from it. We have thrown around a few ideas here, and those ideas have been pulled from what people really would love to see in the next iteration of Sony’s console. However, there is a good chance that Sony has a completely different idea about the route they want to take their console down, so we’ll need to see what happens in a few years. There is a good chance that we are wrong about everything here, but even if we have only managed to get a few points right, we reckon that the PS6 will end up being an amazing console that will sell millions and millions of units.
