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UPDATE: Official PS5 design revealed in full at Sony's June 11 event – or read on for 3D concept renders based on Sony patents, which are likely an early development kit for the console.
LEAKED Sony sketches showing a mysterious console have been transformed into 3D concept renders.
The Sun's graphics team has mocked up what savvy gamers reckon could be the top-secret PlayStation 5 design – months ahead of the console's expected launch.
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The long-awaited PS5 is expected to launch early next year, but the cat may already be out of the bag.
Sony has filed a patent with the World Intellectual Property Office for a mysterious "electronic device", as first spotted by LetsGoDigital.
This category would cover video game consoles – and sure enough, the sketched gadget looks like a PlayStation.
The patent is also attributed to well-known Sony engineer Yasuhiro Ootori, who works on PlayStation design.
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And it could be our first glimpse of what Sony's PS5 looks like.
The strange V-shaped design is a marked departure from Sony's current slanted-box PS4.
The image shows a console with at least five USB ports (likely for DualShock controls), as well as a prominent disc tray.
Often these parts of the console are hidden, so they may be less obvious on the final design.
The upper section of the console appears to have large holes on all sides.
This suggests a very significant cooling system – to keep the processors from overheating while rendering hi-res graphics.
Recent rumours suggest that the console will be more than twice as powerful as the PS4, so cooling will be key.
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The bad news is that there's no way of knowing for sure whether this is the PS5 design or not.
Sony has filed hundreds of patents, but won't always turn each design into a real product.
It's possible this was one possible mooted design it wanted to lock down – but that was rejected for a better look.
We're also potentially a year or more away from the PS5 launch, so even if this is the real design now, it could change before release.
There's also a chance this design shows the look for the "development" version of the PS5, used by game makers to test out Sony's hardware.
Sony has previously filed patents for such designs, but they never make it to game-shop shelves.
PlayStation releases – what's the history
Here's what you need to know...
- Sony is playing its cards close to its chest for a PS5 release, so we won't have strict confirmation for a while yet. But we can take a guess based on history
- The original PlayStation launched in Europe in 1995
- This was followed by the PlayStation 2 in the year 2000
- The PlayStation 3 arrived over half a decade later, in 2006
- Then gamers had to wait a further seven years for 2013's PS4 launch
- Based on those dates, there's an average of six years between each new PlayStation generation
- That would put the PS5 release date at some time in 2019
- But 2016's PlayStation 4 Pro threw a spanner in the works
- The mid-generation console offered gamers a graphical upgrade – without releasing a brand new console generation
- This could mean we'll have to wait a little longer for the PlayStation 5
So when can you get the PS5?
Just last week, a "leaked memo" suggested that the new console would be announced in February 2020.
And Sony has already confirmed that the PS5 isn't coming out this year.
The console-maker skipped E3 in 2019 because "they’ve pretty much announced all the games for this generation" according to industry watcher Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities.
This large number of unannounced games suggests an early announcement in 2020.
US retailer GameStop seems to agree, expecting sales of current consoles to decline this year ahead of a 2020 release for the new devices.
Leaks are starting to come with information about hardware specifications, while others purport to show what the new controller might look like, and more – suggesting that launch is indeed edging ever closer.
Sony's slipping profits from its gaming division also mean there must be huge pressure from the bean counters to get a new box out the door.
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In other news, Sony's PS5 has been tipped to cost over £450.
Read our round-up of the latest rumours about the Xbox 2 and PS5.
And find out why both of these consoles could be the last you ever own.
What do you make of this possible PS5 design? Let us know in the comments!
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