VGCollect Forum
General and Gaming => Modern Video Games => Topic started by: weirdfeline on February 16, 2026, 08:27:18 am
-
Sony Group Corp. is now considering pushing back the debut of its next PlayStation console to 2028 or even 2029, according to people familiar with the company’s thinking. That would be a major upset to a carefully orchestrated strategy to sustain user engagement between hardware generations. Close rival Nintendo Co., which contributed to the surplus demand in 2025 after its new Switch 2 console drove storage card purchases, is also contemplating raising the price of that device in 2026, people familiar with its plans said. Sony and Nintendo representatives didn’t respond to requests for comment.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-15/rampant-ai-demand-for-memory-is-fueling-a-growing-chip-crisis
People have been speculating this since late last year, it actually played a part for me finally getting a PS5 because I figured a new PS5 likely won't go lower than $450 due to this chip storage and the inevitable increase in hardware sales when GTA VI finally releases. Having credible reporting on this seems pretty interesting.
I think most people would be just fine with a 2029 PS6, I know I would. Many people still feel like they haven't gotten anything out this generation so adding on a few more years could make up for that.
As for a Switch 2 price increase, I don't have much interest at all in a Switch 2 at the current price and would have even less with one. I think they should've taken a bigger risk with the hardware because Switch 2 just isn't that interesting because in a lot of ways it's just a Switch Pro with all the Switch 2 editions down to it's hardly distinguishable UI. GameChat being the biggest new feature with its own dedicated button was such a dumb move. (Extra note: on Nintendo's website they have a section for Switch 2 features and GameChat has it's own separate section after it - that's how big they view this feature.)
-
This is good news as far as I'm concerned. I've had my PS5 since 2021 and still don't feel like it's fully lived up to what I paid for it. I feel like there's so much room for this console to shine and I hope with it's going to be Sony's main console for another 4 years or so that it actually gets a healthy injection of excellent titles and exclusives. Also, I'm fairly certain PS6 will not allow the use of physical media. I'm counting on both the next XBOX, assuming there will be one, and the PS6 to ditch discs and any other physical media. The Switch 2 will likely be the last console to embrace it. Regardless, I'm not looking forward to that or really next gen in general given the current trajectory of the industry.
-
Yeah doesn't bother me if they delay the PS6. The Switch 2 thing is more annoying as I'm not getting one right now, but when I do, it's gonna get more pricey. Stupid AI garbage ruining the tech market.
-
Yeah, I got my PS5 Pro back in November because I could get it for $583 and I knew that with the shortages, tariffs and inflation, that was the cheapest it would ever be. I ultimately chose it over the Xbox Series X because of Stellar Blade and Xbox giving up on physical media. Otherwise I would have gotten the Series X back when they were $350, as it's a much better-looking console. I've been gaming primarily on Sony consoles since the PS3, but I won't be buying a PS6 or any new console from Sony again because last year they sent out an update that bricked my PS4 Pro, which was my second PS4 after my original model died. Thankfully I had recently upgraded it with an internal SSD and was able to resurrect it by cloning the old hard drive. Their coding and build quality are getting sloppy. I know some people on Youtube are saying the PS6 will have a disc drive, but after Sony released the PS5 Pro without a pre-installed disc drive, I say there's no way in hell.
I'll be getting the new XBox instead because if I'm forced to go digital, it's going to be the right way with emulation and access to the GOG store. My plan is to add at least 8TB of storage to it and make it the last console I'll ever need with emulators, GOG, and Steam. I'm already digitizing my 7th-gen and earlier games in anticipation. Yeah it'll be expensive, but it's coming in 2027 according to AMD, which gives me almost 2 years to earmark $1,200-$1,500 for it. I'm not worried about exclusives because quite frankly I don't see much beyond 2028 to get excited for. Yeah we're getting some good stuff now (finally), but with modern development cycles that means we're in for another 3-5 year dry spell in a year or two. I'll probably stop buying new AAA games after 2028. The only major AAA games left in the pipeline are GTA6, Fallout 5, and The Elder Scrolls 6, which are guaranteed to be bloated beyond belief. One of the people who is working on Fallout 5 said they want the game to have over 500 hours of content, which makes it a hard pass for me. I'm already sick of games that take 70+ hours to finish. I felt like I needed a vacation after finishing RDR2 and AC: Valhalla last year.
As for Nintendo, I really don't care what they do anymore. I'm done with them, and have found 3rd-party replacements for all of their IPs I used to love (Sonic Racing for Mario Kart, Elden Ring for Zelda, Shin Megami Tensei and Monster Hunter Stories for Pokemon, etc). They've turned most of their IPs into shells of their former selves. Pretty sad that Elden Ring is the best Zelda game in the past 20 years. I would consider my purchase of the Switch back in 2018 to have been a waste of money if it hadn't been for Pokemon Legends Arceus (the greatest Pokemon game ever made), but it's clear from everything since then that Arceus was lightning in a bottle and they'll never make a Pokemon game that good again.
-
Most developers don't even use the PlayStation 5 to its full advantage. 2029 seems too soon.
Also, I'm fairly certain PS6 will not allow the use of physical media.
I seriously doubt that. However, I can easily envision the PlayStation 6 opting out of a dedicated, built-in disc drive altogether for all models and instead have that be an optional attachment, which is already practiced and set as precedent.
-
Most developers don't even use the PlayStation 5 to its full advantage. 2029 seems too soon.
Also, I'm fairly certain PS6 will not allow the use of physical media.
I seriously doubt that. However, I can easily envision the PlayStation 6 opting out of a dedicated, built-in disc drive altogether for all models and instead have that be an optional attachment, which is already practiced and set as precedent.
Most game sold on the PS5 are bought digitally, same with the XBOX. Sadly with physical media rapidly going extinct, especially media on discs, I don't see how a console coming out in 2029 would even offer the means to play games physically. I really hope I'm wrong and discs or some for of physical media remain a thing into next gen, but I'm not counting on it. Most people would rather opt for the convenience of buying their games from the comfort of their living rooms than to actually own their games, but require they go to a store and buy it or wait for it in the mail.
-
Also, I'm fairly certain PS6 will not allow the use of physical media.
I seriously doubt that. However, I can easily envision the PlayStation 6 opting out of a dedicated, built-in disc drive altogether for all models and instead have that be an optional attachment, which is already practiced and set as precedent.
Most game sold on the PS5 are bought digitally, same with the XBOX.
I'm reminded of this post (https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,11998.msg197430.html#msg197430). While I don't disagree with the reality that there are more digital sales than physical sales, I do question how genuine the numbers being reported by third-party news presented as easy-to-read headlines and bullet point lists are and what the actual differences in earnings between digital and physical sales may be.
I don't see how a console coming out in 2029 would even offer the means to play games physically.
I'm not sure what you mean by this exactly.
-
Apparently as of October 2024, 82% of PS5's sold were the disc version. It was reported in April 2025 that 50% of consoles sold so far that year were digital but that obviously includes the PS5 Pro now which is sold digital only with an optional disc drive attachment. That 82% number could be because less digital only systems were available but at full price there's a $100 difference between the two, if people have no need for a disc drive why spend $100 extra?
-
Sony's track record with the PS5 has been one example after the next as to why I don't need a PS6. They could delay it to 2035 and I wouldn't care. Modern gaming is a joke.
It's not just Sony either.
Nintendo prices are out of control and half the games on cartridge aren't even on cartridge, being glorified CD keys... but you'll still pay that $10 cartridge tax.
Microsoft has their own set of issues...even more after today with Phil Spencer retiring and the head of Xbox stepping down. They were replaced by a young woman with no gaming industry experience, having ran Microsoft's AI division. So yeah... Xbox is cooked too.
-
Good! I heard rumors that it was AI to blame. Tariffs. Honestly. It would be the first time AI does something good for gaming. To delay the vesell that it will use to make cheap crap. Nobody wants AI in game development yet they whisper it. I never even hear anyone say "PS6" with any anticipation like it used to be. Nobody cares anymore. It's shocking to me that PS6 is even in American lexicon at this point, they haven't even given us a viable library for PS5. Hardly no game has used it's potential graphically. The jump from PS1 to PS2 was like seeing Alien tech. The jump from PS4 pro to PS5 is like squinting to see the difference on an ispy book. Wasnt the PS5 pro marketed on 8k gaming meanwhile 8k TVs are not readily popular to consumers? At no point are they common place. Be another 10 years before even our TVs catch up. It's like inventing a car that runs on Uranium ore. 8k Gaming? We are clearly stagnated in terms of tech advancement. The Hardware is decades away from needing to be improved. I don't think a new generation of consoles is healthy for gaming as a respected medium of entertainment. And it may just damage gaming as a whole.
Despite more people gaming than ever before in history. Upwards of 65 percent of Americans. The console sales month by month are down from the past gen of games. And thats with inflated reseller numbers day 1.
.
This current Console Generation is very subjectively the worst ever or at least worst since the 80s game crash.. All 3 of the big brands are cashing in on cheap legacy remasters, shamelessly porting last gens games at 70 dollar price tags and bogus upselling. And I love my PS5. But it really is PS4 2.0. It is not a unique mind blowing experience. And until that day comes. The game companies should really just tone it back. Software is what we want. Niether of the 3 companies even make a proper portable console offering anymore. Why not try that? DS Ultra. The PSP2. Big money and something fresh.
I wouldnt buy a PS6 if it was 200 dollars. I'm rocking PS5 until 2035 lol
-
Microsoft has their own set of issues...even more after today with Phil Spencer retiring and the head of Xbox stepping down. They were replaced by a young woman with no gaming industry experience, having ran Microsoft's AI division. So yeah... Xbox is cooked too.
Wow! Learning this just now from reading this. Crazy shakeup.
-
Actually, Sony has (again) decided to increase prices globally (https://www.ign.com/articles/sony-announces-price-rises-for-ps5-ps5-pro-and-playstation-portal-blames-continued-pressures-in-the-global-economic-landscape). In the United States, the price changes which go into effect April 2 are as follows:
PlayStation 5 Digital Edition: $500 → $600
PlayStation 5: $550 → $650
PlayStation 5 Pro: $750 → $900
-
Yep, this was coming with all the news about chip shortages last year. A big part of the reason I finally bought a PS5 this most recent Black Friday.
As for Switch 2, they are apparently cutting production of new consoles by 30%. Nintendo commented on it but didn't necessarily deny it.
-
All this AI nonsense that is giving us nothing good, just completely decimating the PC and console market. Hate it so much.
-
All this AI nonsense that is giving us nothing good, just completely decimating the PC and console market. Hate it so much.
I work in an industry that is very adjacent to the boom in AI adoption, and it's absolutely disgusting how much greed is fueling all this. CEOs and executive teams are frothing at the mouth over all this and they speak with glee about replacing large percentages of their workforce and investing in thousands of new data centers. They simply do not care how much this is decimating certain industries, all they see is massive dividends for themselves and their shareholders.
-
I work in an industry that is very adjacent to the boom in AI adoption, and it's absolutely disgusting how much greed is fueling all this. CEOs and executive teams are frothing at the mouth over all this and they speak with glee about replacing large percentages of their workforce and investing in thousands of new data centers. They simply do not care how much this is decimating certain industries, all they see is massive dividends for themselves and their shareholders.
It's really crazy how bad it is and how there has to be a bubble to burst, which might be happening now with some recent happenings, because it seems like everything to do with AI and these tech giants, is just this circular money pit. One company invests in another company or builds upon their own, funneling money around which looks great for shareholders and people with stock, but it's all being done with no actual profit or product being. No jobs are being created, jobs are being loss, and these services make jack squat in terms of money made. I think it was OpenAI where it was shown that operating costs were in the billions, but they were only making a couple hundred million. The only people making money are at the top and now almost the entire tech industry is being ruined because of it. It's insane.
I'm glad I got my PC built in 2024 (My RAM quadrupled its price from when I bought it) and I still have my PS5, but I was considering getting a Switch 2 or VR headset this year and I might have to think about doing that more quickly just to avoid price increases that are bound to happen, when I was sitting here waiting on a sale to happen to maybe save a few bucks on either lol
-
I work in an industry that is very adjacent to the boom in AI adoption, and it's absolutely disgusting how much greed is fueling all this. CEOs and executive teams are frothing at the mouth over all this and they speak with glee about replacing large percentages of their workforce and investing in thousands of new data centers. They simply do not care how much this is decimating certain industries, all they see is massive dividends for themselves and their shareholders.
It's really crazy how bad it is and how there has to be a bubble to burst, which might be happening now with some recent happenings, because it seems like everything to do with AI and these tech giants, is just this circular money pit. One company invests in another company or builds upon their own, funneling money around which looks great for shareholders and people with stock, but it's all being done with no actual profit or product being. No jobs are being created, jobs are being loss, and these services make jack squat in terms of money made. I think it was OpenAI where it was shown that operating costs were in the billions, but they were only making a couple hundred million. The only people making money are at the top and now almost the entire tech industry is being ruined because of it. It's insane.
I'm glad I got my PC built in 2024 (My RAM quadrupled its price from when I bought it) and I still have my PS5, but I was considering getting a Switch 2 or VR headset this year and I might have to think about doing that more quickly just to avoid price increases that are bound to happen, when I was sitting here waiting on a sale to happen to maybe save a few bucks on either lol
Although i'm not directly involved in AI, I work and am a shareholder in tech adjacent companies. My entire finanicals depends a lot on these swings and sectors and boy am I getting my ass handed to me. Trust me it's far worse than it appears. The silver bubble already popped and the government is artificially stimulating it by revolving door buyouts from treasuries. It hit 110 an ounce for silver and has dropped like 40 percent. If something like that happens to the stock market that fast. We have a great depression folks. And we teeter totter. Now i'm not saying were depression bound but we are most certainly experiencing a mini crash right now. Amazon logistics side of their business is intentionally using leverage to strangle brick and mortalr. Inflation, the gold standard, the bubble of AI boom, food shortages, wars it's all unsustainable and you are correct that there are big shakers revolving money around to artificially balloon their companies in hopes people hype buy and it can buy them market dominance. AI is mostly fake hype. It's not real. It's not really a tangible assett. It's an illusion. Just like cryptocurrency.
What is far more likely to happen is a lot of companies are going to die, and with so many people being replaced by AI employment, its gonna cause major famine, supply and demand issues. I'm already being swallowed by it and its only the tail of this hurricane. I hope i'm wrong. I hope were all wrong. But this AI stuff is bad bad news.
On a lighter note, 900 dollars for a PS5 pro is the funniest thing ive heard since my first time seeing a Chapelle stand up. How high will the prices go and how low will quality dip before consumers back away entirely and the entire gaming industry collapses? Atari didnt think it would happen either. But it did.
-
I work in an industry that is very adjacent to the boom in AI adoption, and it's absolutely disgusting how much greed is fueling all this. CEOs and executive teams are frothing at the mouth over all this and they speak with glee about replacing large percentages of their workforce and investing in thousands of new data centers. They simply do not care how much this is decimating certain industries, all they see is massive dividends for themselves and their shareholders.
It's really crazy how bad it is and how there has to be a bubble to burst, which might be happening now with some recent happenings, because it seems like everything to do with AI and these tech giants, is just this circular money pit. One company invests in another company or builds upon their own, funneling money around which looks great for shareholders and people with stock, but it's all being done with no actual profit or product being. No jobs are being created, jobs are being loss, and these services make jack squat in terms of money made. I think it was OpenAI where it was shown that operating costs were in the billions, but they were only making a couple hundred million. The only people making money are at the top and now almost the entire tech industry is being ruined because of it. It's insane.
I'm glad I got my PC built in 2024 (My RAM quadrupled its price from when I bought it) and I still have my PS5, but I was considering getting a Switch 2 or VR headset this year and I might have to think about doing that more quickly just to avoid price increases that are bound to happen, when I was sitting here waiting on a sale to happen to maybe save a few bucks on either lol
On a lighter note, 900 dollars for a PS5 pro is the funniest thing ive heard since my first time seeing a Chapelle stand up. How high will the prices go and how low will quality dip before consumers back away entirely and the entire gaming industry collapses? Atari didnt think it would happen either. But it did.
I mean if rumours are to be believed ::)
(https://scontent-ams2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/577393705_849205167669483_1956976632283385062_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=13d280&_nc_ohc=mYW6RNn3i_QQ7kNvwHVUQGd&_nc_oc=Adoar2xk5eAFFFcwUVEv6-oQmk_t1VodXHl7oCRX6BAySW-ZeCJb2DrCafiuQs7HLxE&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-ams2-1.xx&_nc_gid=Ebl0lhEH1KNyLBuhz9UFtQ&_nc_ss=7a32e&oh=00_AfwWWvfjqlVxWMisA6tvbIzN6HTk-l17y_gaRAhpwd_o8w&oe=69CCE981)
Rather expect the higher end price range than the lower one
-
Yep, this was coming with all the news about chip shortages last year. A big part of the reason I finally bought a PS5 this most recent Black Friday.
As for Switch 2, they are apparently cutting production of new consoles by 30%. Nintendo commented on it but didn't necessarily deny it.
Yeah, this PS5 news has me ready toget a Swtlitch earlier than I planned just to avoid a potential price increase.
-
Yep, this was coming with all the news about chip shortages last year. A big part of the reason I finally bought a PS5 this most recent Black Friday.
As for Switch 2, they are apparently cutting production of new consoles by 30%. Nintendo commented on it but didn't necessarily deny it.
Yeah, this PS5 news has me ready toget a Swtlitch earlier than I planned just to avoid a potential price increase.
it was bound to happen, all the negative rep with key cards, high prices and not the greatest games will do that to a console not to mention them adapting some of the bad new stuff from other consoles ain't helping either.
too many negatives few positives.
-
Yep, this was coming with all the news about chip shortages last year. A big part of the reason I finally bought a PS5 this most recent Black Friday.
As for Switch 2, they are apparently cutting production of new consoles by 30%. Nintendo commented on it but didn't necessarily deny it.
Yeah, this PS5 news has me ready toget a Swtlitch earlier than I planned just to avoid a potential price increase.
it was bound to happen, all the negative rep with key cards, high prices and not the greatest games will do that to a console not to mention them adapting some of the bad new stuff from other consoles ain't helping either.
too many negatives few positives.
Honestly at this point, because of all the things you listed and more. 100 percent agree. I'm more in the crowd of just skipping this gen altogether. To buy one to beat upcoming price hikes to me which I thought of... is like trying to buy a diamond before the market goes up to propose to an abusive spouse. It's rushing to nothing imo. An anti consumer company weaponizing nostalgia and living strictly off fomo. It's to gaming today what Atari 5200 was to 1983's game crash. With not much "missing out" of the fomo being there. Every person I know who bought one regrets it. To me I just don't see what is being offered that either hasn't already been done 20x, or is better than the previous generation in any regard. It's sad to say but we are void of innovation. This is a very bad time to be a gamer. Retro is exorbitant in price. Modern is vultures seeking AI gains, and maximum greed.
I have no doubts in my mind we are going to see a gaming industry crash weather big or small within the next 15 years. GTA 6 is going to isolate so much of the player base into spending complacensy. Nintendo has already chopped production by 33 percent. The only people buying switch 2 are resellers and people with expendable income. The great gaming crash of 83 had all the same warning signs. Oversaturation of derivative material. Insane pricing that priced out middle america in the hopes of appealing to the affluent. Recessions, wars and government mandates. Economical turmoil. Not to mention inflation. Now we have the AI bubble. And to top it all off and worst of all. Lack of innovation. Absolutely decimated the market. And it was booming to the likes nobody had seen.
I suppose i'm no future teller but who is going to buy a PS6? Lol. It sounds goofy. Like Xbox 720 and Okama Gamesphere. It's just parody at this point. Switch 2 got off to a hot start but they don't break records with switch 1 by selling to us. They make it by selling to kids and broke college gen z kids during pandemic stimulation. It is marketed expensively, seriously, has terrible PR and predatory practices and it'll die because of it. I have no doubts if Nintendo suffers Playstation does too because they follow their moves rather than counter them :( I've never seen a worse gen since my birth.
-
Sony adding another log on the fire of why people shouldn't buy the next Playstation. It's been one thing after the next with them for PS5. This is the first console gen where prices have increased instead of gone down. This same time frame in the PS4's lifespan had it available for $200 on sale with Spiderman bundled in.
-
Although I've gotten more use out of my PS5 this past year, it's still far from where I wanted it to be when I bought it.
PS4 was a step down from PS3 for me, and PS5 a step down from PS4. Just the selection of games has gotten thinner as dev times have been stretched out, meaning a single letdown hurts way more. Back in the PS3 days there were usually a dozen or so games I was looking forward to in a given year. I mean really looking forward to, like I wanted to play them Day 1. PS5 though? I'm lucky to have half that in a year. And in years 1 and 2 there was even less.
I will likely be focusing on retro next gen and not making the same mistake of expecting things to pick up after a slow start. Unless they come out of the gates swinging in year one to change my mind, PS6 will largely be a skip while I focus on more affordable consoles of yesteryear.
-
Although I've gotten more use out of my PS5 this past year, it's still far from where I wanted it to be when I bought it.
PS4 was a step down from PS3 for me, and PS5 a step down from PS4. Just the selection of games has gotten thinner as dev times have been stretched out, meaning a single letdown hurts way more. Back in the PS3 days there were usually a dozen or so games I was looking forward to in a given year. I mean really looking forward to, like I wanted to play them Day 1. PS5 though? I'm lucky to have half that in a year. And in years 1 and 2 there was even less.
I will likely be focusing on retro next gen and not making the same mistake of expecting things to pick up after a slow start. Unless they come out of the gates swinging in year one to change my mind, PS6 will largely be a skip while I focus on more affordable consoles of yesteryear.
This is pretty much me too, except I do like the PS4 more than the PS3. As for my PS5, I still don't feel like it's paid for itself yet in terms of worthwhile exclusives and how much enjoyment I've got out of it. And I've had mine since 2021. I'm counting on next gen being 100% digital, which will only make my decision just to play retro and older titles that much easier.
-
Yeah I saw the price increases coming last year when RAM prices started skyrocketing. I saw that with the Black Friday $100 off and my 10% employee discount, $585 (before tax) for a PS5 Pro was the cheapest I'd ever be able to get it for, so I jumped on it. Man am I glad I did now that they're $900. Regardless of whether or not physical is still a thing next-gen, I'm done with mainstream gaming after this gen. There's just hardly anything worth buying anymore. From generations 1 through 7, every time a new game came out in a series, it was usually a significant improvement (at least visually). But ever since 8th gen, sequels keep getting worse and worse with each new iteration. Now they've reached the point where there's usually no point in buying sequels because the previous games were better (with very rare exceptions). I'm still looking at the next Xbox because I want a gaming PC powerful enough to emulate anything in my collection, but if it ends up being locked down in any way, I'll just go with a regular gaming PC.