New Report Suggests PlayStation 5 Might Be Announced Later This Year

The gaming industry is abuzz with Nintendo’s latest ventures right now, with the launch of the Switch proving to be its most popular in a long, long time.

As Nintendo desperately tries to remain relevant in a market that it once dominated, the incumbent king is said to be bringing forward plans for a launch of its own. Sony, maker of the 60-million-selling PS4 is apparently working to launch its new PlayStation 5 as soon as the second half of 2017, according to a report by Macquarie Capital Securities analyst Damian Thong.

Thong does have history in such things having successfully predicted the launch of the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro, so while his claims seem somewhat ludicrous on the face of things, we think his track record demands a second look at what are arguably his most surprising claims yet.

Officially, Sony has said absolutely nothing about launching a PS5 just yet, and having brought the PS4 Pro to market last year, we do wonder whether there is much wisdom in launching a new high-end product so soon after the company brought 4K gaming to the masses for the first time. Microsoft has its own refresh in the works too, with Project Scorpio set to be an updated, upgraded Xbox One console that will also include 4K support.

With the PS4 and PS4 Pro selling so well as a combined number since launching in 2013, surely 2017 is too early for a brand new console to come out of Japan’s biggest player in the market?

With Microsoft set to unveil Project Scorpio at E3 2017, we find it highly unlikely that Sony will do the same with the PS5, but if it was to do exactly that, it’s possible the Scorpio would be dead in the water before it has even launched. Despite Thong’s past record though, we don’t think Microsoft has too much to worry about in that regard just yet.

(Via: Wall Street Journal)

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