![\"PlayStation](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_260903870-19f3.jpg\")
\n\t\tDoes there need to be a next generation? (Sony\/Microsoft\/Metro)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tDoes there need to be a next generation? (Sony\/Microsoft\/Metro)<\/p>\n
With next generation consoles expected in 2027, a reader argues that both Sony<\/a> and Microsoft<\/a> should give up their plans and stick with the current hardware.<\/p>\n There, I said it: there should never be a PlayStation 6<\/a> \u2013 or another next gen Xbox<\/a>.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been gaming for nearly 40 years, from the ZX Spectrum and Game Boy to the PlayStation 5<\/a> and Xbox Series X<\/a>. But the argument for creating another generation of consoles seems as if Sony and Microsoft are more worried about the other getting there first, rather than it being a good idea. Here\u2019s why sticking with the current hardware makes far more sense.<\/p>\n Generational leaps are getting smaller<\/p>\n When I first bought a PlayStation in the mid-90s, the leap from 16-bit systems like the Mega Drive was astonishing. Then the PlayStation 2 brought richer detail and largely eliminated graphical pop-in. The Xbox 360 delivered HD visuals and bigger worlds. But since then, the returns have diminished. Each new generation feels more like a modest refinement than a revolution.<\/p>\n The PlayStation 5\u2019s solid-state drive and controller are its biggest advances and even those aren\u2019t transformative. Would a PlayStation 6 really offer more than another incremental boost? Even this generation took years to hit its stride, with few titles truly showcasing next gen power. Late generation games often rival early ones from the next console. And even developers themselves acknowledge the jump from PlayStation 4 to 5 isn\u2019t that much<\/a>.<\/p>\n Triple-A game costs are already huge<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tExpert, exclusive gaming analysis\t\t\t<\/p>\n Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter<\/a> for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.<\/p>\n Budgets for triple-A games have shot up over past few generations. Spider-Man 2<\/a> reportedly cost $300 million to make<\/a>, while The Last Of Us<\/a> Part 2 was $220 million and Horizon Forbidden West $212 million. Compare that to PlayStation 2 era titles like The Getaway, which was considered pricey at \u00a35 million. Few publishers can sustain those costs. No matter how powerful a PlayStation 6 might be, very few studios could afford to push it to its limits.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Games take far too long to make<\/p>\n It\u2019s been 12 years since the last GTA<\/a> \u2013 with no sequel until 2026. But the PlayStation 2 era saw new entries almost annually. Franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Fable, and Fallout have suffered similar droughts. High-fidelity graphics and sprawling open worlds take years to produce, leaving long gaps between releases. The Demon\u2019s Souls remake team Bluepoint Games hasn\u2019t launched anything new in five years<\/a>, and Naughty Dog hasn\u2019t released a wholly new title in half a decade either. Is this likely to get even worse when more demanding hardware slows that process further?<\/p>\n New features are running out<\/p>\n Ray tracing was hyped as a PS5 game changer, yet most players barely notice or care. Throughout console history, flashy tech often fails to live up to its promise \u2013 remember the \u2018power of the cloud\u2019 on Xbox One or the hard drive on the original Xbox that only Blinx really needed? Even the PlayStation 5\u2019s SSD, one of its best features, has only been meaningfully used in a handful of titles, like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and The Medium. And PS1 games did not look anything like the dinosaur demo that was packaged with early consoles.<\/p>\n Innovation is being stifled<\/p>\n The PlayStation 5 has faster loading times from the SSD and a noticeably improved controller, while the Xbox Series X\/S have game resume from the same point, even after switching the console off. But when hardware leaps stop being exciting, developers have to innovate elsewhere \u2013 and that\u2019s a good thing. But marginally prettier graphics don\u2019t justify a whole new generation. This year we are getting 18th instalments of Battlefield and Assassin\u2019s Creed, Call Of Duty 23, and Madden 36. What differences would a PlayStation 6 version of these make? Shiner grass textures? Individual beard hairs? Maybe removing the easy graphics upgrade crutch would push studios to try fresh ideas instead?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n It would accelerate the decline of physical games<\/p>\n The PS5 Pro already released without a disc drive, and standalone drives soon sold out and shot up in price. Physical games have already significantly dropped as a percentage of sales, but if a higher percentage of gamers don\u2019t have a disc drive more publishers won\u2019t even release games physically. For generations of gamers a trip to the second-hand games shop or searching end-of-line sales of reduced titles have been an inexpensive way to try new titles. But if everything is digital then there\u2019s less incentive for publishers to reduce prices.<\/p>\n Manufacturers selling hardware at a loss are a thing of the past A meaningful upgrade could easily push the PlayStation 6 close to \u00a31,000. That\u2019s not hypothetical, the Asus ROG Ally and similar portable Xbox devices already approach that range, and reports suggest Microsoft\u2019s next console could do the same<\/a>.<\/p>\n Streaming is catching up<\/p>\n When my old TV broke last year, I replaced it with one that includes Amazon Luna. It\u2019s not perfect, but it can stream current gen games with minimal lag. As internet speeds rise, that experience will only improve \u2013 and could make owning a console optional altogether. Or a gamer could stream the few titles too modern for their console while playing everything else natively.<\/p>\n Xbox isn\u2019t the rival it used to be<\/p>\n Outside the Xbox 360 era, PlayStation has outsold Xbox every generation in the UK. Microsoft\u2019s strategy now focuses on flexibility with their anything\u2019s an Xbox campaign<\/a>. Meanwhile rumours of cancelled hardware or what would effectively be Xbox branded PCs suggest the brand is less about competing with PlayStation and more about creating ecosystem to play Microsoft owned games. So why should Sony feel pressured to keep racing them? They could even allow Game Pass on the PlayStation 5 and take a cut of it like they do with Ubisoft+ and GTA+.<\/p>\n Of course, neither company will listen. The PlayStation 6 and next Xbox will arrive, cost a small fortune, offer very little that\u2019s genuinely new, and sell out at launch. But bigger questions remain: will they outsell either the PlayStation 4 or 5, or will they deliver experiences that truly couldn\u2019t exist on today\u2019s consoles? Probably not.<\/p>\n By reader Jean-Paul Satire<\/p>\n \t\t The reader\u2019s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.<\/p>\n You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk<\/a> or use our Submit Stuff page<\/a> and you won\u2019t need to send an email.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow
New consoles cost more to build than most consumers are willing to pay, even before R&D costs are considered. Sony and Microsoft are increasingly unwilling to sell at a loss, meaning already rising prices could skyrocket. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X\/S units already cost more than they did at launch<\/a>, when in previous generations they reduced multiple times and gained a new audience with each one.<\/p>\n![\"PlayStation](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_272565505-7a9c.jpg\")
\n\t\tDo you want to a new generation? (Sony\/Microsoft\/Metro)<\/p>\n
\nMORE: The art of video game music is dying – Reader’s Feature<\/a><\/p>\n
\nMORE: I\u2019m an older gamer and the coolest teacher at my school – Reader’s Feature<\/a><\/p>\n
\nMORE: Halo on PS5 is truly the death of Xbox \u2013 Reader\u2019s Feature<\/a><\/p>\n