An upgraded PS6 at the price of a PS5? New leaks suggest significant performance improvements at an affordable budget.

Table of Contents

1. What Happened?──Summary of the Leak in Three Lines

2. Sources and Credibility: Positioning of MLID and "2023 AMD Materials"

3. Is the Price Really Comparable to the PS5? The Reality of the $499 Strategy

4. Detailed Speculation on Expected Specs (CPU / GPU / Memory / Power / Cooling)

5. Will 4K/120fps Become "Standard"? The Role of PSSR/AI

6. Ray Tracing 5 to 10 Times Better? The Future of Graphics Quality

7. Compatibility and User Experience: How Will PS4/PS5 Assets Be Utilized?

8. The Significance of 160W Power Consumption: Quietness, Energy Efficiency, and Thermal Design

9. The Choice of Chiplet + Navi 5

10. Rumors of "PS6 Handheld (Tentative)" and Its Relationship with Nintendo and PC Handhelds

11. Comparison: PS5 / PS5 Pro / "Expected PS6" / High-End PC

12. Impact on the Japanese Market (Including Tax Price, Stock, Distribution)

13. From the Perspective of Developers and Publishers (Reallocation of Performance Budget)

14. Buying Guide: Should You Buy a PS5 (Pro) Now or Wait for the PS6?

15. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

16. Conclusion: What to Believe and How to Prepare

17. Reference Articles and Source Links
    
    

1. What Happened?──Summary of the Leak in Three Lines

• The PS6 is expected to maintain a price range comparable to the PS5 while aiming for up to three times the rasterization performance.

• With Zen 6 + RDNA 5 + GDDR7, total board power of approximately 160W, and a focus on 4K/120fps, there is a possibility of continued PS4/PS5 compatibility.

• The target timeframe is late 2027 to early 2028, but everything is not yet confirmed and subject to change.

2. Sources and Credibility: Positioning of MLID and "2023 AMD Materials"

The primary source of this information is a video and podcast by MLID, based on "a 2023 presentation by AMD for Sony."The "initial target values based on the materials"can easily fluctuate due to design, cost, yield, exchange rates, and market conditions. Therefore, it is prudent to take this as an indication of direction while understanding that individual figures are fluid.

3. Is the Price Really Comparable to the PS5? The Reality of the $499 Strategy

The launch price of the PS5 ($499) symbolizes the "mass-market price range" for consoles. The significance of maintaining the same price for the PS6 is as follows.

• Adoption Speed: Accelerates initial adoption and supports third-party investment decisions.

• Competitive Landscape: Direct confrontation with Nintendo's next-gen console, next-gen Xbox, and PC handhelds.

• Cost Pressure: To absorb costs even with the transition from 7nm to advanced nodes and the adoption of GDDR7, a design philosophy that maximizes "performance/cost" through efficiency over CU count, AI/PSSR utilization, and power optimization is necessary. In conclusion, "Maintaining the PS5 price is not impossible, but not easy either." Exchange rates, memory market conditions, yield, and heat dissipation/cooling materials will be key factors.

4. Detailed Speculation on Expected Specs (CPU / GPU / Memory / Power / Cooling)

• CPU: Zen 6 8-core. Improved **instructions per clock (IPC)** across generations from PS5's Zen 2. Sufficient for AI workloads and ray tracing auxiliary paths.

• GPU: RDNA 5, 40–48+ CU / over 3GHz. Even with fewer CUs than PS5 Pro (around 60 CUs), the design intention is to enhance overall performance through architectural efficiency, clock speed, and dedicated RT improvements.

• Memory: GDDR7, 160/192-bit bus. Potential expansion of bandwidth from PS5 Pro's GDDR6 (about 576GB/s) to a range of 640–768GB/s.

• Power: Total board power of approximately 160W. If reduced compared to PS5 (about 220W), it positively impacts quietness, freedom in chassis design, and electricity costs.

• Cooling: The key is a thermal/power margin design that balances miniaturization, low noise, latency, and electrical stability. The adoption of liquid metal, airflow control, and vapor chambers involves a trade-off with manufacturing costs.

5. Will 4K/120fps Become "Standard"? The Role of PSSR/AI

"Full native 4K/120fps" is demanding even for PCs, but consoles can achieve perceptual 4K/120 at lower costs by combining AI upscaling and **variable resolution (VRS/FSR systems)**. In the PS6 generation, the **"smartness" of rendering** will likely have a greater impact on frame rate stability than raw TFLOPS.

6. Ray Tracing 5 to 10 Times Better? The Future of Graphics Quality

In RDNA 5, improvements in RT units and BVH processing efficiency are expected, potentially balancing quality improvements and cost reductions in reflection, GI, and shadow. If RT can be used regularly at higher resolutions and frame rates, it will enhance not only photorealism but also options for stylized expressions. The balance between visual "accuracy" and "pleasure" is expected to advance.

7. Compatibility and User Experience: How Will PS4/PS5 Assets Be Utilized?

If backward compatibility is maintained, it will allow for the inheritance of digital libraries, smooth transition during the cross-gen period, and the utilization of peripherals like PSVR2. The conversion of save data and trophy assets into "next-gen value" strongly supports the buying psychology.

8. The Significance of 160W Power Consumption: Quietness, Energy Efficiency, and Thermal Design

The quality of the console experience is significantly affected by heat and noise. If power consumption can be reduced to around 160W, it opens up possibilities for smoother fan curves and smaller chassis. In Japanese living environments (apartment complexes, late-night gaming), quietness is as important a KPI as "performance."

9. The Choice of Chiplet + Navi 5

Chiplets contribute to yield improvement and cost optimization, and are suitable for flexible differentiation of upper/lower SKUs. Separating memory and IO in the design is advantageous for balancing cost, power, and cooling. However, it also involves new design challenges such as implementation complexity and latency management.

10. Rumors of "PS6 Handheld (Tentative)" and Its Relationship with Nintendo and PC Handhelds

Leaks suggest the possibility of a high-end handheld launching around the same time as the PS6. If designed to target half the raster performance of the PS5 at around 15W, it sends a strong message to the handheld market, including Switch 2. The key will be a hybrid experience combining cloud/remote and local computation.

11. Comparison: PS5 / PS5 Pro / "Expected PS6" / High-End PC