The former executive's argument
According to IT之家, citing GamesRadar, former Sony Interactive Entertainment president Shawn Layden believes that the next generation of consoles should not chase further performance increases. The technological leap from one generation to the next is now smaller, and the most useful innovation would be to make the machines purchasable by more players.
Layden recalls that in the past each new console brought clear improvements: he cites the shift from PS1 to PS2 and from CD to DVD. The PS4, he adds, was also offered at $399 while introducing full connectivity. Rumors about PS6, by contrast, focus on more advanced ray tracing and greater computing power—differences that he says many players would not perceive.
Price versus power
In the Chinese newspaper's account, Layden argues that the performance of current consoles is already sufficient and that the real innovation would be a $300 PS5 rather than a $1,200 PS6. The figure should be read as the former executive's hypothesis, not as a price announced by Sony.
The observation is tied to a market data point reported in the material: the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S now cost more than they did at launch six years ago. Layden speaks of a platform that increases in price after release, a phenomenon he says he has never seen before.
What remains to be verified
Among the causes of the price increases, the material cites memory scarcity: AI data centers are said to absorb much of chip demand, with effects on consoles and smartphones. No quantitative data is provided to confirm the scale of the phenomenon.
Layden proposes focusing on smaller and cheaper consoles, optimizing around these two goals. The proposal remains a personal statement: it is not an official Sony plan, nor are any decisions on PS6 known. The console's future specifications, actual prices and the evolution of the component shortage therefore remain to be verified.
