Sony has only just fully unveiled the PS5 Pro, showcasing the power of a mid-generation upgrade, but we’ve now got some juicy details on the next hardware iteration – the PS6.
While most info drops on the new console have been few and far between, thanks to Reuters, we have our hands on one feature in particular.
This is backwards compatibility, something that Sony has certainly overlooked in the past.
According to Reuters, Intel “lost out on a contract to design and fabricate Sony’s PlayStation 6 chip in 2022” to AMD, affecting “Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger’s turnaround plan” dramatically.
This was obviously a huge blow to the tech giant, but it may be a big win for gamers.
This is because both the PS5 and PS5 Pro consoles are using the aforementioned AMD chips, making this at least one common denominator between the current internals and PS6’s.
Moving to “Intel would have risked backwards compatibility” for future hardware and “was a subject of discussion between Intel and Sony”, meaning it appears Sony has taken note of its missteps in the PS3 era, for example.
As for what type of backwards compatibility will be put in place is yet to be seen but there’s one thing for sure, you’ll be able to play PS5 titles on the PS6 if the above from Reuters is correct.
While there are also obviously economies of scale in play here, having the same chip supplier over multiple years and various hardware iterations, having it baked in now, and in the future will be key to competing with Xbox.
The reason why is that Xbox has been championing backwards compatibility for some time now and using it as one key reason to pick up a Series X|S, for example.
The library of titles you can play from the Xbox 360 and original Xbox is pretty staggering, and a big selling point for parents who are introducing retro games to the younger generation, as well as having a sneaky play too.
While it’s still looking like a challenge for Sony to make consoles fully backwards compatible with all generations, it’s nice to know that the effort has been put in for future proofing this with the AMD contract.
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