It seems that the current generation of consoles has just begun, and yet a corner of the Internet has spent much of this week obsessing over the next iteration, the alleged mid-generation hardware upgrades for Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X. / S. The commotion is thanks to an event hosted by TV maker TCL, as reported for the first time by the Polish news site PPE.
This current generation of consoles officially began in November 2020, with the launch of Microsoft not one, but two new generation machines. The Xbox Series X is the flagship, capable of rendering games at 4K resolution and running at frame rates of 60 fps. Next to the X Series came the smaller Xbox Series S (although not capable of reaching 4K, it is still a small reliable Game Pass machine). Two days later, Sony released two models of its next-generation console, the PS5. The two machines have identical specifications and can match the 4K60 X Series lens. Only difference? One has a disk drive, the other does not.
I’m sorry, I’m sorry, slow down for a second. Why talk about even newer next-generation consoles? It’s impossible to get those out today!
You are right! Thanks to a number of variables, including robots, the ongoing shortage of semiconductors, and the general production problems that capitalism entails in a pandemic, buying a next-generation console is still a boom. While the Xbox Series S appears regularly in large retailers, the Xbox Series X has only recently begun to be available and at erratic times. Both PS5 models are still elusive.
Yes, and the timing itself seems too soon.
It is and it is not. The last time the “middle generation upgrade” took place was around three or four years after the console generation. The generation itself began with the 2013 release of the PS4 and Xbox One. Sony released its mid-generation update, the PS4 Pro, in 2016. That same year, Microsoft released a newer Xbox model, the Xbox One S, and followed it in 2017 with the Xbox One X, specifying a nomenclature convention for flummox players until the end of time.
I hate it too.
It’s unnecessarily confusing, yes.
So, are we getting the PS5 Pro and what the hell is the next Xbox called or what?
At the moment, the launch of a PS5 Pro or a new model of Xbox Series consoles is not fully confirmed. Sony and Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment in time for its release. This week’s burst of speculation was boosted in part by the moment. If these machines come out in a year or two, depending on the timeline of the latest generation, now (or now) would be the time to pull the curtain. And this year’s annual non-E3 marketing take is just a few weeks away, starting with Sony’s press release on June 2nd.
But much of the dialogue has been revived with a platform that has been circulating since the TCL event.
The conference photos, published by PPE, showed a slide entitled “Generations of Game Consoles”, intended to promote TCL’s “2022 Product Introduction”. Under a subhed marked “Gen 9.5”, the slide featured alleged details of a “PS5 Pro” and a “New Xbox S / X Series”. (These photos served as the basis for a number of semiviral posts on social media.) He claimed an 8K resolution output with frame rates of up to 120 fps, technically possible with this current generation of consoles, by the way, if have the right screen.
There is no indication that TCL has any view of Microsoft or Sony’s hardware plans. A company representative did not respond to a request for comment.
Have we gotten at least some good memes?
Oh yes. The Internet, as usual, had a field day. The non-Morb week meme goes to:
Filtered image of the PS5 Pro. It comes with an off-screen display and paper for your achievements. pic.twitter.com/1iGHhQI284
– Trevgauntlet Neutonian Fluid (@TrevgauntletNeu) May 25, 2022
That’s pretty good.
Right? You really know that the conjecture has reached a fever point once the memes become megavirals like that. Of course, rumors of a mid-generation upgrade have been circulating almost every time that generation has passed. The most significant round previously occurred in September 2021, when the YouTube channel Moore’s Law Is Dead suggested that the PS5 Pro could land in 2023 (with a sticker price of $ 700 ($ 972)). It didn’t fan the memes to the same degree.
But the time is undeniably hot right now. Beyond the ripe marketing window and the “evidence” of the TCL conference, there are few big-budget games to get excited about these days, with the wave of recent delays. It’s fun to get excited about things. And if fans know that there are no big touchstone games on the immediate horizon, it’s easy to point to the potential of splendid new consoles, even just an ad.
Personally, I’m in no hurry, beyond the fact that console makers, and this may sound crazy, should probably make sure that gamers can get their hands on current models before releasing one more. new, presumably more expensive. For me, there really is an indicator that it will be time for an update: when my PS5 starts mimicking a jet engine every time I try to boot The Last of Us Part 3.