The PlayStation 6 's enhanced ray tracing performance and machine learning upscaling via future versions of PSSR are set to define the next-generation system by Sony , but according to Alderon Games founder Matthew Cassells , the system's biggest challenge will be to get stubborn PlayStation 5 users to upgrade.
Speaking in a recent episode of the s Broken Silicon podcast, Cassells revealed that roughly 30 to 40 percent of PlayStation users for the studio's games are still on the base PS4 , who haven't seen a massive enough jump in the PlayStation 5 to upgrade.
"Are those people going to see a difference noticeable enough," Cassells said, highlighting how PlayStation users will see the PlayStation 6 improvements differently, starting with PlayStation 4 users. "I think if they went from PlayStation 4 to PlayStation 6 and the PS6 was a reasonable price, they would go, 'Oh, this looks like PS2 to PS3, so I'm done, I'm upgrading,'" Cassells explained. With the system launching in a "post GTA 6 world," previous-gen users wanting to experience the next entry in the series will also have another reason to upgrade.
However, the real challenge for the PlayStation 6 will be to get current-gen users to upgrade. For someone who already owns a PS5 Pro , Cassells questions if such users will really see a difference: "Are you really going to upgrade for a ray tracing improvement? It's going to be hard to say." As such, Sony needs to be smart with the next-generation launch, suggesting a diversified lineup with an affordable handheld option (which is rumored to be indeed in the works ) could push users to upgrade, especially at the $399 price point. "You said you wanted it to be $399. We're bringing you an extra console for 399... it looks better than the PS5," Cassells suggested as a way to get people to say, "Shut up and take my money."
While some may think getting PlayStation 5 users to upgrade to PlayStation 6 may be a problem only for Sony , a slower adoption could extend the cross-generation period that will inevitably hold next-generation games back. Matthew Cassells pointed out that only now, almost six years into the generation, we are finally hitting the post-cross-generation era where developers are no longer held back by dated hardware still using HDD .
By leaving the dated PlayStation 4 hardware behind, Resident Evil Requiem manages to look "ridiculously good," with the PlayStation 5 Pro hardware finally delivering good ray tracing on consoles at decent performance. "If it didn't suck, I don't think they'd turn it off. They'd probably leave it on," Cassells remarked, highlighting how the base PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X can only handle very light ray tracing at decent performance levels.
With little to no detail available on the PlayStation 6 hardware outside of rumors, it is difficult to say right now if it will offer enough for current-generation users to upgrade during the inevitable cross-gen period. However, as the system is reportedly still scheduled for a late 2027 or early 2028 launch as i t would cost more to delay it than to pay extra for RAM , it will likely not take too long to finally learn more about Sony's next-generation system, and if it will offer enough of a jump to push adoption and keep the cross-gen period as short as possible.
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