PlayStation 5 release date, specs, news: Next-generation console rolling out in 2018?

A Sony PlayStation 4 Pro is displayed during a launch event in New York City, U.S., September 7, 2016. Reuters/Brendan McDermid

It seems that PlayStation fans are not that interested in its mid-model upgrade, the PlayStation 4 Pro. Many are said to be skipping the Pro model scheduled to arrive next month and wait for a full model upgrade, with the PlayStation 5 rumored to arrive by 2018.

Sony is expected to offer an impressive next-gen console. It is rumored to have a better VR technology, which the Pro model initiated. It will also feature HDR and full 4K gaming support, something which is still not fully utilized by the models coming next year.

It is also rumored that the disc drive will be taken out of the next-gen model, and the console will rely entirely on digital downloads for games and content. There are those who would prefer to have physical copies of their games, but this number is getting less and less as time goes by.

However, games are also getting more and more intricate, aside from getting bigger in file size. There are games that, once they get released, will still need a few more gigabytes of data in order to function well because they could not fit on a 50 GB disc. There is also the question of the gamers having the proper amount of download speed to get the extra amount of data via the internet at the soonest possible time, not to mention if they have access to the internet in the first place. This issue could be remedied by the use of UHD Blu-ray disc that could easily accommodate up to 100 GB of data. So there is still a chance the optical disc will not be taken out for now.

Meanwhile, Sony is said to go on with the PlayStation 5 if the PlayStation 4 Pro will be successful in its own right. According to Jim Ryan, PlayStation marketing Chief, they are still unsure at the moment. Ryan said, "We are doing something [that] has never been done before in the industry, and even if we view it from a logical point of view, will it be successful?"

He also added, "We are still two months following the launch away to know whether we will actually be successful."

The PlayStation 5 is speculated to arrive in 2018, but all eyes are focused on the release of the PlayStation 4 Pro next month.

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