As the imminent release of the highly anticipated PlayStation 5 draws near, speculations and presumptions are going 'round and about on what to expect from the next generation console. Some developers were lucky enough to experience the power of the PS5, one of them being Yakuza series general director Toshihiro Nagoshi.
During the live Sega-Nama broadcast Nagoshi confirmed that the story for the next Yakuza game is finished. The main parts of the story have been recorded, but the recording phase has not been completed yet.
Nagoshi then stated that the PlayStation 5 processing power is incredible, and the team is already thinking about how to use it to improve on the series' gameplay. He added that the PlayStation 5 is going to bring a return to the "programmable" era, where artificial intelligence and machine learning will be central, as opposed to simple graphics improvements.
"The processing power of PlayStation 5 is incredible, so when we try to think of new gameplay that will utilize its full potential, I'm not really sure which aspects of existing mechanics we should translate," Nagoshi said via Gematsu.
Earlier this month, a glimpse of the PS5 was released and we witnessed the upcoming console in action. Sony, in a video, also revealed the impressive loading speed of the power console.
We should also mention that the purported "distaste" by PlayStation boss Jim Ryan for backwards compatibility has been misinterpreted. This has been going around for years now, actually. But the exec wants to make things clear: the ability to play PlayStation 4 games on the upcoming PlayStation 5 will be "absolutely key" to the success of the next-generation system.
Ryan clarified the misunderstanding after a recent investor relations day and said that transitioning consumers from its current console to its new one is critical to "initial momentum", and it wants to achieve it faster than it ever has before. He believes that fans will find it easier to upgrade by moving their existing games library across.
Sony is bent on keeping the PS5 hype for sure, but the company still expects the PS4 to be the main driver of profits for the next three years or so. It makes a lot of sense, as the software and hardware will inevitably experience a price drop to make it more attractive to a broader audience.
Sony has it all planned out, it sure looks like it. Now we just have to wait for more tidbits.
