The PS5 is now a thing, even if finding out where to buy PS5 is currently very challenging, and millions of gamers all around the world are currently enjoying next-gen gaming awesomeness.
And, as reported earlier today by T3, there looks like there is even more good news in the future of PlayStation 5, as an official Sony patent has pointed towards the possibility of a dual-GPU PS5 Pro console incoming.
The most interesting part of that patent, though, might actually be the cloud gaming applications it can deliver, too, with the 'scalable game console CPU/GPU design for home console and cloud gaming' seemingly perfect for transplantation into the much-rumored new PSP 5G.
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And especially because the advanced cloud technology detailed in the patent, which connects to a 'cloud gaming management server' can work with both one or two system-on-chip (SoC) consoles. It is its scalability as much as its ability to work with multi-GPU setups that is so interesting here.
The official patent states that, 'SoC technology can be applied to video simulation consoles such as game consoles, and in particular a single SoC may be provided for a ‘light’ version of the console while plural SoCs may be used to provide a “high-end” version of the console with greater processing and storage capability than the ‘light’ version'.
Rumors about a PSP 5G first started back in 2018 when Sony announced its FY2017 financial results and said that it was staying in the smartphone business "to develop 5G technology as a competency that can be used across the Sony Group.”
And, as we noted at the time, if you look across the Sony Group, at its divisions and technology markets, the most obvious and – considering the continuing insane popularity of Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite consoles – potentially profitable area for 5G technology is in portable gaming, specifically portable gaming streamed from the cloud.
Right now, in 2020, Sony is indeed still in the 5G business, with its latest phones like the Xperia 1 II rocking the next-gen network tech. It is also, very notably, still in the gaming console market, with its PlayStation 5 console the number one product on Earth right now.
And now we have an official patent from Sony detailing a highly versatile and scalable new technology for cloud gaming that has obvious implementations in next-gen games consoles. And, while home consoles absolutely would benefit from enhanced cloud gaming performance, the console area that would most benefit from enhanced cloud gaming tech is portable, handheld consoles.
Which is where, in T3's eyes, two stars here collide and might very well be shortly to produce the next-gen gaming handheld that PlayStation fans have been begging for since the failure of the PS Vita – a next-gen PSP console loaded with a 5G connection and a variant of this new cloud gaming technology.
Just imagine the mind-blowing gaming experiences that would be delivered? We're talking playing Horizon Forbidden West and God of War 2 on the go, streaming it seamlessly thanks to advanced game streaming hardware, a 5G modem and next-gen cloud servers. The prospect of swinging through New York in Spider-Man Miles Morales on the bus is tantalising.
As to what a next-gen PSP 5G could look like, if it indeed does come to pass, right now is difficult to determine as no official announcements have been forthcoming. Our best look yet what the PSP 5G could look like right now comes from this concept video, which shows off a version in two colorways.
Here at T3, despite Sony stating that it wasn't currently working on a new handheld a few years back, we think there is still a very good chance of a new PlayStation Portable 5G console, purely because Sony has the technology needed to put one together all in house and that the Nintendo Switch continues to sell like absolute hotcakes.
Unlike the PS Vita, which was almost bogged down with needless features that added to its cost, as well as a scarcity of games made specifically for it, a new 5G PlayStation Portable that was just a cloud-streaming console would not have those issues to overcome either – it would simply stream games that already exist (be that PS5 or PS4, as well as any older platform games optimised already in the PS Store) and would lean on its top 5G and cloud gaming technology.
Here at T3 we've been blown away with the PS5 and with rumors of a PS VR 2 incoming, as well as potentially this new PSP 5G, it sure looks like Sony is going to be a force to be reckoned with this console generation.
As reported in more depth by T3, the other major application of this patent technology is in the production of a dual-GPU games console, with two system-on-chip APUs (accelerated processing units) working in one or multiple combinations to deliver enhanced gaming performance, and specifically in relation to how graphics processing is handled.
Right now the current PS5 has one custom-made AMD APU with a single graphics chip, so as the patent states 'plural SoCs may be used to provide a “high-end” version of the console with greater processing and storage capability'.
And, with the PS5 (10.28 teraflops) only trailing the current king of the next-gen consoles, the 12 teraflop-packing Xbox Series X, in terms of raw power by a fraction, a PS5 Pro with not just one but two GPUs would end its reign dramatically. Exciting times ahead for PlayStation fans it seems.
