New Patent Hints at PS5 Pro

As If We Didn’t Have Enough to Be Excited For

Sony’s next-gen console isn’t even out yet, but a new patent hints at a PS5 Pro being in the pipeline.

Maybe “New” is an overstatement since the patent was first filed last year, but only recently made public. This could mean that there won’t be a long wait for the Pro Model of the console- after all, it was only three years into the PS4’s life cycle that the PS4 Pro was released alongside the PS4 Slim.

The patent- like all patents- is filled with a fair amount of jargon, but there are a couple of things that catch the eye. First of all the patent isn’t called “PS5 Pro”, but “Scalable Game Console CPU/GPU Design for Home Console and Cloud Gaming.” While it’s a safe bet that a last-minute name change isn’t in the works, it’s also a safe bet that a new feature for the PS5 wouldn’t be announced for the base console so close to its release this holiday season.

As for what the patented technology does, that’s where it gets a bit more complex. One paragraph reads:

“In a multi-GPU simulation environment, frame buffer management may be implemented by multiple GPUs rendering respective frames of video, or by rendering respective portions of each frame of video,” reads the patent. “One of the GPUs controls HDMI frame output by virtue of receiving frame information from the other GPU(s) and reading out complete frames through a physically connected HDMI output port. Or, the outputs of the GPUs can be multiplexed together.”

In short, multiple GPU’s will be working simultaneously to render the images on screen, which also reduces buffering time. Given that one of the touted features of the next console is the lack of loading screens, that’s certainly exciting.

Where it gets a bit dicey is that, while the patent does refer to both light and high-end versions of the PS5, the features being discussed are achieved via The Cloud.

Ultimately what we know about the patent is that… there’s a patent. While the wording certainly hints at a high-end version of the upcoming console and discusses some of the features of a console it’s important to note that companies often patent technology that doesn’t end up getting used. In fact, Sony themselves got in on this by patenting technology that would allow backwards compatibility all the way back to the PlayStation One– technology which, unfortunately, isn’t something the PlayStation 5 will support. While we know that a PS5 Pro will likely come out in the future, and this might be a feature, try not to get too excited- we’re already getting one of the most advanced consoles of all time within the next couple of months. Anything else is just the cherry on the top.

What do you think of the news? Will you be getting a PS5, or are you team Xbox? Let us know down in the comments, or hit us up on Twitter and Facebook.

SOURCE

Lewis Rees

New Patent Hints at PS5 Pro

As If We Didn’t Have Enough to Be Excited For

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