Details about the future of Sony’s next-gen PlayStation 6 console have been relatively sparse in recent months. Players interested in the technical capabilities of the PS6 have been eagerly awaiting announcements about the console’s specs, and today they finally got an official update from AMD and Sony.
In a brand-new update from AMD’s Jack Huynh and PlayStation 5 architect Mark Cerny (via YouTube), players can get their first official look at the technical capabilities of the PlayStation 6 and what new technologies will be implemented in the next-gen console. It features revolutionary advances such as “Universal Compression, Neural Arrays, and Radiance Cores.”
PlayStation 6 Features Universal Compression Technology
The Next-Gen Design Will Be More Efficient, Powerful, & Great For Developers
In an official announcement today, AMD’s Jack Huynh, SVP and GM of Computing and Graphics Group, and lead architect of both the PS5 and PS5 Pro, Mark Cerny, discuss at length some of the revolutionary system advancements coming to the next-gen PlayStation console.
While the announcement includes a deep-dive into some very technical aspects of the PS6’s design features, there are three key systems/details that promise to completely redefine what’s possible for the PS6. These include Neural Arrays, a new machine learning process that is “not just faster, but more capable.” Neural Arrays “will allow us to process a large chunk of the screen in one go, and the efficiencies that come from that are going to be a game-changer.”
The next-gen console will also incorporate Radiance Cores, a new ray-tracing technology that “handles ray tracing and path tracing in real-time, pushing lighting performance to a whole new level.” This rendering approach will alleviate the most “compute-heavy parts of the process,” resulting in a “cleaner, faster, and more efficient pipeline built for the next generation.”
Most significantly, the above two systems will synergize with the Universal Compression system, addressing one of the biggest hurdles in current-gen console design: GPU bandwidth limitations. Universal Compression technologies will allow 4K textures to render seamlessly and “deliver more detail, higher frame rates, and greater efficiency.”
Our Take: PlayStation 6 Is Exciting, But Won’t Release Soon
PS6 Technical Details “Only Exist In Simulation Right Now”
Ultimately, while the technical aspects of PlayStation 6 sound incredibly exciting and will give players an unprecedented experience in video games when implemented, the above specs are still theoretical at this point in time. Radiance Cores, Neural Arrays, and Universal Compression “only exist in simulation right now,” indicating that the next PlayStation console won’t be coming anytime soon.
That said, getting a glimpse at how Sony and AMD are re-thinking technologies and innovating for better performance is fascinating. The next wave of consoles will certainly be uncharted waters for developers and players alike, and we haven’t even begun to imagine what gameplay will be like on the PlayStation 6.
- Brand
-
Sony
- Original Release Date
-
November 19, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
-
$399.99 (Digital Only), $499.99 (Disc Drive)
- Weight
-
Digital Edition now weighs 3.4 kg & base version weighs 3.9 kg