Sony confirmed development on its next-generation PlayStation platform will accelerate in 2027. Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden challenged that approach in an interview with The Trophy Room, arguing Sony should lower PS5 prices instead of building a PS6.
"I think we have enough power in the machine. The innovation needs to come not from making PS6 for $1,200, it's to make another PS5 for $300. Now, that would be true innovation," Layden said.
The PS5 has grown more expensive over its six-year lifecycle. The PS5 Digital Edition rose from $400 to $600, while the standard PS5 increased from $500 to $650. The PS5 Pro jumped from $700 to $900. A global memory shortage driven partly by AI data center demand has contributed to rising costs.
Layden predicted a PS6 costing over $1,000 will reach fewer consumers and won't deliver noticeable graphical improvements. "These are the differences that only dogs can hear," he said about gains in teraflops and ray-tracing power.
He called on Sony to shrink and cheapen the console without redesigning its core architecture. "Make it smaller, make it cheaper, do all the things you can around that. The silicon is fine, the operating system is fine. It's more than enough power to build the kind of games all of us want to play."
Sony has extended the PS5's lifespan with technology like Quick Spectral Super Resolution (QSSR), an upscaling tool currently available for two games.