Sony's CEO Kenichiro Yoshida recently told Financial Times that the next-generation of consoles is indeed on the way. Yoshida stated: "At this point, what I can say is it's necessary to have a next-generation hardware," though declined to answer whether the name would follow the numerical theme of its predecessors or, like the Xbox One, have a name more off the wall.
The article claims that the PlayStation 4's successor may launch with some sort of tablet device as well as that Sony is very much within the eSports headspace - however, be mindful that these aren't quotes of Yoshida but rather the article itself. "Sony might be planning a tablet that would connect to multiple devices as online streaming of games becomes more widespread and the company seeks to derive ever greater synergies between its games and movie divisions."
Sony has also been slow to embrace the surging potential for esports, a market based around a global audience estimated at 167m that watch online streams of professionals playing games at the highest level.
Industry analysts believe that Sony will be keen to rectify that through its next console, by ensuring that its machines are deemed powerful enough to host top level esport events.
Sony Interactive Entertainment, the division responsible for PlayStation, said it was considering various options to strengthen its position in esports, which it sees as an effective way to encourage users to play a game for a longer period of time and to enhance the social role of games.
What do you think of the CEO's comment? What are your thoughts on the article's claims?
The PlayStation 5 doesn't currently have a set release date.