Consoles have come up a very long way since the arrival of first-generation machines from Atari and Coleco in the seventies. Even the original PlayStation (1994) and Xbox (2001) look dated compared to the 4K/HDR-capable machines of today, and that carve up will grow even larger in one case the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X arrive at the finish of 2022.

But what about the future?

More than once console makers accept tried to interruption new ground, by focusing on functionality across gaming, just for the nearly part those attempts have failed. Nintendo has establish the most success with specialized hardware that still focuses on games offset, while Sony and Microsoft have seemingly understood that building powerful full general purpose machines that are akin to PCs is their best and safest bet. Non unlike PCs, it'south that fast hardware that has let them update their consoles accordingly to the times, adapting and adding features via software updates throughout the consoles' lifecycle.

So, how much more advanced volition the next-next-gen consoles look next to the upcoming machines from Sony and Microsoft? In the second of our "Future of Tech" serial, we predict what hardware the PS6 and Xbox series Z (placeholder names) might sport.

The processor: 3nm or smaller?

AMD is providing the computational and graphical power for both the PlayStation v and Xbox Series Ten. Sony and Microsoft have confirmed their consoles will feature a custom, 8-core CPU based on the 7nm Zen 2 architecture. The Xbox Series X promises functioning iv times that of the Xbox One 10, and then expect something similar from the PS5.

Looking to the time to come, the main question is whether console makers will stick with AMD or turn to Nvidia or Intel for their processors. Judging from recent history, Team Red will likely remain the manufacturer of selection when information technology comes to providing the hardware.

AMD is rumored to launch its Zen iv consumer processors in 2022 or 2022 -- it's said to be one of the outset three companies locked in past TSMC for the manufacturer's 5nm process. And while AMD hasn't revealed any long-term roadmaps, TSMC has already started to focus on manufacturing 3nm process nodes and beyond -- the Taiwan firm has started structure on its $19.5 billion fab that volition manufacture 3nm fries, which are scheduled for mass product in 2023.

While in that location will doubtlessly be problems to overcome when going so modest, expect the technology to appear in future PCs, mobile devices, and consoles, bringing with it high-efficiency performance and low power draw. With console generations lasting between five and eight years, 3nm could be the standard by the fourth dimension the side by side generation of consoles arrive.

A dedicated discrete GPU, faster refresh rates every bit the norm

Xbox Series Ten and PS5 come with GPUs from the Radeon Navi family, with Sony'south automobile said to feature 36 compute units running at two,000MHz, while its rival reportedly has 56 units at 1,700MHz. Despite technological advancements, many console games are all the same locked at 30 fps -- something PC gamers won't correspond. With the next-gen machines, we're promised 120 fps at 4K, 8K back up, ray tracing, and variable refresh charge per unit (VRR).

While more than TVs back up 120 fps+ and VRR, these are even so a relatively new add-on to home televisions, and the number of 8K sets owned by consumers is minimal owing to their very high price and lack of content. The PS5 and Xbox Series 10 volition likely encourage more than people to invest in high-end TVs, but will everyone eventually follow?

4K televisions are merely just becoming the standard in about countries. Technology moves fast, simply information technology's difficult to imagine that in, say, 10 years, 8K will be as popular equally 4K TVs are today, even so tomorrow'south consoles may offer 8K at refresh rates higher than 60 fps.

The machines may fifty-fifty support 16K -- a resolution Sony already offers in its Crystal LED display organization and is supported by DisplayPort two.0 (at 60 fps). This will obviously require a monstrously powerful graphics processor and could even result in the first panel to take a dedicated GPU.

Custom graphics options, PC-style

One of the biggest advantages PC gamers accept e'er had over their console cousins is the slew of graphical options offered by games. Resolutions, textures, aspect ratios, effects, frame rate caps, they can all be altered in the majority of PC titles, simply with the PS4 Pro and Xbox One 10, it's usually a option between 'Performance' or 'Quality.' That, however, could change.

Samsung has confirmed information technology is "pushing" Microsoft for the Xbox to support widescreen monitors, which are condign increasingly popular among PC gamers. It might arrive equally a characteristic of the Xbox Serial 10, merely if not, expect information technology, and many other settings, to be part of the motorcar's successor, particularly as Microsoft strives to make its consoles more like PCs.

The main reason for having graphics settings on PCs is because of the differences in each system, pregnant those with beastly rigs can prepare everything to max, while potato-owners can drop things to Minecraft-style levels (without the ray tracing). So why include them in consoles? It could allow for much higher frame rates. Those who desire 60 fps+ at 8K on the panel of the future can lower the textures. Or maybe they'll be happy dropping to 4K@240 fps with full furnishings enabled. Any happens, more ample options are always a expert thing.

Fast storage = Shorter loading times

Loading times take been 1 of the worst elements of modern consoles, but this year they'll feature a big upgrade to PCIe 4.0 solid-state drives. It'due south difficult to predict what the future will hold in this surface area, but we can at least expect to see chapters and speeds improve over the coming years as hardware costs drop.

As we wrote in our Time to come of Tech: The Desktop PC feature, it's also possible that the consoles of the future may rely on the cloud for their storage needs -- the machines do ofttimes follow in the footsteps of their PC counterparts, after all.

As multi-gigabit internet plans start to become the norm, nosotros might encounter the next-next-gen consoles storing most of their content in the deject, while featuring smaller capacity just super-fast local storage. They could even use universal storage such as UltraRAM, which combines the all-time aspects of flash storage and DRAM into one.

Virtual reality accessories. Sony: Yes. Microsoft: Who knows.

Virtual reality has been a relative success on Sony'southward current console, thanks to its pop PSVR, and that commitment volition go along with the PS5 where a PSVR two release is expected. Conversely, Microsoft has said VR won't be a focus for the Xbox Series X -- Phil Spencer, the software giant's VP of Gaming believes "nobody is asking for virtual reality."

After some stagnation, VR headsets have improved drastically in recent times, with cutting-edge units such equally the Valve Index, Oculus Rift Southward, and HTC Vive Cosmos. Nosotros tin await to see the engineering science to proceed improving with per-eye resolutions of 4K and above, 165Hz+ refresh rates, and better controllers that offer more than interaction. Merely the most compelling feature volition be for these headsets to connect to a console wirelessly -- a technical challenge, merely information technology could be a game-changer for the industry. It's rumored that the PSVR 2 will have this ability, simply we'll take to wait and run across.

Whether Microsoft does finally encompass VR on its consoles remains to be seen -- information technology could all depend on whether headsets experience a surge in popularity and some must-have games are fabricated. But one thing's for certain: the prospect of ultra-immersive VR gaming is certainly something to await forward to.

Will at that place nonetheless exist physical copies of games?

It'southward long been said that physical games volition disappear completely, replaced with their digital versions. It's almost happened on the PC, so shouldn't consoles go down the same path in a few years?

Microsoft has tried this already with the disc-less Xbox I S All-Digital Edition (in a higher place), which omits the standard 4K Blu-ray bulldoze, relying on digital downloads only. While information technology's $50 cheaper than a regular Xbox 1 S, it hasn't set the world on fire. Many believe its price should be lower, especially every bit it removes the pick of buying cheaper, 2nd-hand games from stores.

While not anybody is a fan of disc-free consoles, information technology's appears to exist the direction the industry is going. Games-on-demand subscription services such as the Xbox Game Laissez passer and PlayStation Now are gaining popularity, companies are pouring millions into their streaming services, and more panel owners are purchasing games digitally rather than going out and buying a physical copy. The same thing is happening with digital TV shows and movies, which are eroding the DVD and Blu-ray market place speedily.

In 2022, a few analysts predicted that all games would be digital past 2022. Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X will send with disc drives though, so that'south non going to happen, but it's non unrealistic to retrieve that discs and cartridges will have gone the manner of the VHS tape by the time 2030 rolls around. If they are still with us, perhaps an 8K deejay drive volition accept become the standard for consoles.

Controllers & add-ons: Bring back the lightguns!

Nintendo has been the major driver of innovation here for the past couple of generations, but in the case of Sony and Microsoft'south console controllers, other than some small-scale changes and a few extra bells and whistles, they are not very different from their predecessors -- and we'll likely find the same thing in the PS5 and Xbox Serial X.

A desperate pattern modify for future consoles is unlikely. We can expect to see certain improvements such as better connections, improved battery life, and a few new features, but they'll however be recognizable every bit a PlayStation/Xbox controller.

What we'll probably get, withal, are some new accessories. Recollect when Guitar Hero ruled the globe before the genre faded abroad? Advancing technology volition mean new, innovative products of the same ilk. How about total bodysuit controllers that work in conjunction with VR?

A gaming chair that can simulate Yard-Forcefulness (like a more than practical version of this)? And, information technology might not exist innovative, simply we'd like to see the return of lightguns -- imagine how technically advanced they could exist, while sitting in front of today's inexpensive 70-plus-inch TVs. And yet, many console owners would probably settle for better mouse and keyboard back up.

Design and looks

The design of consoles tends to be influenced by their hardware. We know the Xbox Series Ten looks like a pocket-size class factor PC, only we've only seen the PS5's alleged dev kit, and those often differ vastly from the final product.

The Xbox Series X's size is nearly double the volume of the Xbox 1 X, and it's said to pack the largest console processor ever made at effectually 405mm, which is about 11 percent larger than the one plant in the Xbox 1 X. Microsoft's upcoming panel is hefty, but high-finish hardware needs high-stop cooling -- the company doesn't desire another Cherry Ring of Death horror show.

Historically, consoles had been considered smaller and more discreet than PCs, but with increasingly small class-factor computers packing the likes of RTX 2080 Ti cards, that'south no longer the instance. And then, volition future consoles get even bigger?

With Microsoft's years-long quest to close the gap between console and PC, information technology's likely that a hereafter version of the Xbox volition be slightly larger, peculiarly if -- as mentioned in the previous section -- a defended detached GPU is finally introduced. We could, however, run across Microsoft echo what it did with the Xbox 1 and introduce later iterations that are smaller (Xbox One S/Xbox One X).

Futurity PlayStation designs are harder to predict, especially if the PS5 dev kit does behave any resemblance to the console's final design. Barring the original PlayStation, the console has always maintained a similar rectangular shape. It'south likely that Sony will keep with that style rather than going the PC-esque route; if the PlayStation five logo is anything to become by, the company'southward not one for major design changes.

Additionally, Sony has released "slim" versions of its consoles since the PS2, then don't exist surprised to see that tendency continue.

Game streaming... the time to come?

Most game streaming services are in their infancy, which means we're all the same seeing plenty of teething problems, but we can await the industry to abound and improve as cyberspace speeds and the technology powering the likes of Google Stadia improve.

Only will consoles go the same fashion? A few years back there were rumors that part of Microsoft's next-gen Xbox lineup would include a streaming-only version of the console, one that was less powerful but a lot cheaper than the Xbox Series Ten. Phil Spencer put those rumors to residual in 2022, but peradventure there will be a streaming-only option offered alongside a hereafter machine -- bold the game streaming industry doesn't collapse.

It's certainly interesting to think how streaming will influence machines of the hereafter. In our PC feature, we predicted the rise of a desktop PC as a dumb automobile with express capabilities, the heavy processing work existence carried out in the cloud and streamed back to the auto -- which could hateful cheap PCs that perform amend than what we have today.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot in 2022 said that within the next ten years, game streaming would replace all platforms, eliminating the need for distinct gaming hardware. That does seem highly unlikely, and right now developers are focusing much more on adjacent-gen consoles than streaming services, but then many people thought video streaming wouldn't impale off much of the concrete media market -- and look what happened there.

Masthead credit: Concept Creator