PS5 Coming Sooner Than Expected?

With consoles trying harder and harder to keep up with the ever-growing demands of new games, the long-lasting lifespan of the previous console generation seems to be a thing of the past. Within a few years of the launch of the basic Xbox One and PS4, consumers already saw the premiere of a mid-generation console ‘upgrade’, a better box capable of playing all the same games but with a bit more smoothness and a few more bells and whistles – Those were the Xbox One X and the PS4 Pro.

Earlier reports stated that the next console generation was still a long ways off, however; rumors stated that consumers should not expect to hear anything Playstation – Five related from Sony until sometime in 2020 at the earliest. However, according to recent murmurs, that info may very well have been incorrect. It would appear that the next chapter in the numerical Playstation Saga will be arriving a bit sooner than anyone saw coming.

Okay, just a bit sooner. Not too much.

The latest rumors indicate that not only will we be officially hearing about the PS5 in early 2020, but that’s when we’ll be getting it, as well. It appears Sony wants to keep up a constantly-cycling release schedule when it comes to their exclusive titles: The early 2020 release will give them a chance to drop The Last Of Us 2, Ghost of Tsushima, and Dreams by Media Molecule – each of which  will be given enough room during 2019 to be its own gaming ‘event’ of sorts.

These rumors have also reported that Square  Enix is currently working on a title that will be offered as an exclusive when the release of the PS5 rolls around, though it is currently unknown who they are cooperating with to make this happen. A big possibility for this new title is Babylon’s Fall, a cooperation between Platinum Games (Known for titles such as Metal Gear Rising: Revengance and the Bayonetta series) and Square Enix. The two companies teamed up once before to release the critically-acclaimed Single Player Action game Nier: Autotomato, and may have since decided to attempt to replicate that success with another original title.

The game received one somewhat cryptic cinematic trailer for E3, and has not been heard of since, which raises the possibility that it had been chosen to be a PS5 launch title. This would explain why there’s been no gameplay footage shown of the title; Until the console is officially announced, the developers would want to keep the gameplay and in-game footage under wraps.

Furthering this theory is the fact of AAA Single-Player games: They tend to make far less money than do Multi-Player focused AAA titles, whether due to the popularity of the idea of playing with one’s friends or the ability for developers to implement micro-transactions that allow the user to either show off their cool skins to other players or gain a competitive edge. Sure, the best-of-the-best Singleplayer titles have certainly earned loads of money in the past (God of War for PS4 as a standout example), but on average, these returns are less reliable.

Due to this, AAA single-player experiences are often used to push or promote new products. For example, check the original launch lineup of the Xbox One, which included Assassin’s Creed 4, Dead Rising 3, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, Just Dance 2014, Ryse: Son of Rome, and Zoo Tycoon.

Look forward to more info regarding the upcoming PlayStation 5 and Babylon Falls, the new collaboration title between Platinum Games and Square Enix, sure to come sometime in 2019.