4 years ago
Talha Sonmez
We never expected news about the PS6 and Microsoft's next Xbox console to come so soon, but here it is. AMD, one of the world's leading semiconductor companies, is hiring an SoC (System-on-Chip) verification engineer. The [application](https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/system-on-chip-verification-engineer-160442-at-amd-3061207967) has been listed on LinkedIn and states the following:
"The team behind the chip powering XBOX™, PlayStation™ and the latest RDNA-family graphics chip is hiring for its Markham location in Canada for the next-generation chip development project!"
https://www.mercedesamgf1.com/en/partners/partner-amd/_jcr_content/root/slider/sliderchilditems/slideritem/image/MQ7-0-image-20210301145706/AMD_both_4252.jpeg
Sony and Microsoft are probably deep into the research and development of their next-generation consoles. If we look back in time, PS4 was worked on in 2008, five years behind the PS4's release in 2013. The same applies to PS5, where development began in 2013; however, the console was released in 2020, a 7-year gap. Predicting the release date of the PS6 is difficult as it's too early; however, Takashi Mochizuki (a Bloomberg journalist) [tweeted](https://twitter.com/6d6f636869/status/937931138152120320) release date predictions in 2017 by Goldman Sachs for the PS5, a PS5 Portable, and the PS6 as follows:
- PS5 (2020)
- PS5 Portable (2023)
- PS6 (2027)
We can see that they correctly predicted the release date of the PlayStation 5, 3 years before its release. Suppose the rest of these predictions are correct. In that case, we can certainly see the PS6 releasing in Holiday 2027 and a surprising PS5 Portable in 2023. We know that Sony has already trademarked the PS7, PS8, PS9, and PS10, so the PS6 release in Holiday 2027 seems reliable and accurate if things go smoothly. Going back to the PS5 Portable, this is an exciting prediction as the PS Vita couldn't beat the PSP in terms of sales, which was a letdown for Sony. Therefore we think a PS5 Portable release for 2023 could be unlikely. However, we never know how rapidly things change nowadays since COVID became a thing.
Nintendo has changed the course of the handheld console market with the Nintendo Switch. Although the PSP, PS Vita, and Nintendo DS were impressive at the time of their releases, the Nintendo Switch was the first handheld gaming device to offer gamers a whole console experience in a portable manner. The Switch made Nintendo the dominant player in the handheld console market, with multiple exclusive titles like Mario and other fan-favorites that gamers love. Remember, this all happened when people thought mobile gaming was the future of handheld gaming. Nintendo stepped in to prove all wrong, selling millions of units.
Therefore, Sony might want to enter the handheld gaming market to compete against Nintendo to share some of the success made over the years. We'd have to see for ourselves once the PS5 Portable is released, as we have no idea about its specs, price, performance, capabilities, and USPs to attract gamers that are Nintendo fans especially. One thing to note is that maybe the prediction was wrong by Goldman Sachs, and they meant the PS5 Pro to be released in 2023, which is more likely than a PS5 Portable based on market trends. Time will tell.
**Disclaimers**
Talha Sonmez is the Founder & CEO of Stock Checker. You may follow him on Twitter [@Roekaine](https://twitter.com/Roekaine).
Images used in this article belong to AMD, Sony, Spiel Times & Mercedes AMG F1, respectively.