From SONY they have taken a path which for us is wrong and which leads to a huge bottleneck, the fact that the developers continue to support the PS4 and take this console as a base, although it is a hard drive from 2013. However, it does open up the possibility that SONY could eventually launch a low-cost PlayStation console, which, although we’ll never see, makes sense in times of economic downturn and for emerging markets. In any case, despite the non-existence of said model, we decided to think about it a bit and think about what it would be and how viable it would be.
What would the Low Cost PlayStation look like?
For starters, the PlayStation Low Cost would have the ability to run all games created for the PS4, under better conditions than the original console, thanks to a series of improvements inherited from the PS5, such as replacing the Jaguar processor. at 8 cores per less at more than 2 GHz, for an AMD Zen 2 at more than 3 GHz. A jump in CPU performance, which would give you 4 times the performance. The other improvement would be the use of an SSD, not below the speeds of the PS5, because it would not be necessary, but with the advantages in access times in games.
As for the RAM memory, it would be 8 GB, since PS4 games do not use a greater amount of RAM, this would allow us to cut the bus at 128 bits with 4 GDDR6 chips of 2 GB each. The memory chips would be the same as those used in the PS5, 14 Gbps GDDR6, allowing for 224 GB/s bandwidth. A figure higher than the 176 GB / s of the original console. Going from a 256-bit bus to a 128-bit bus creates a much smaller and cheaper chip.
Anyway, here’s a recreation of what the chip would look like internally after removing and rearranging the various parts that would make it up.
And what about the graphics card?
Of course, we’re missing the PlayStation Low Cost Chip’s built-in GPU. In the original console, it was a GCN architecture with 18 cores or compute units. The PS5, on the other hand, uses the RDNA architecture, 36 compute units and a clock speed above 2 GHz compared to 800 MHz for the 2013 system.
Due to hardware backward compatibility, it becomes possible to use an RDNA 2 chip with 18 compute units and reduced clock speed. In addition, all RDNA 2 elements that are not useful for PS4 games and would take up space on the chip without doing anything would be removed. This would include several unreleased units on PS4 and PS4 Pro.
All this would result in a console that would be able to run PS4 games in Full HD and 60 FPS without any problems and could be sold at a very low price by SONY. As for refrigeration, it could easily do without exotic elements, which would mean a significant reduction in costs.
The Low Cost PlayStation would not use a Blu Ray player
The system, like its rival, the Xbox Series S, would lack a serial Blu-Ray drive and therefore it would not be possible to load games in physical format. Although it would be possible to connect the modular drive that SONY is preparing for the PS5 design review. Rather, the PlayStation Low Cost would have been designed for users to maintain the PSN Plus subscription, obtain paid games, and purchase games through the console’s digital store.
Low cost controller: Dual Shock 5
As long as the PlayStation was Low Cost, the console would come with a controller that looked like the DualSense, but with differences from the original model, as it would be cut off because it didn’t support haptic vibrations or adaptive triggers . However, he would retain the rest of the duties. Said command could be called Dual Shock 5 to differentiate it from the standard PS5, but to mark that it would be an evolution.
In hardware it is viable, but what about games?
The problem would be all those PS5 titles that were made for the console and are designed to take advantage of the power of the next-gen system. Although in some cases it may seem to us that the games would work perfectly on a PS4, the reality is quite different and it would be extra work to port them to this system and a waste of human resources time. In any case, the conversion would not be impossible, but they would have to take care of the conversion. Of course, being a Full HD console, the textures could be reduced to a quarter.
However, the main problem would be the fact that it would conflict with the PS5 in purchase intent, since SONY has opted for AAA gaming policy for both generations, this Low Cost PlayStation would receive massive support from the public which would see that the console would be good enough to play your favorite games. In other words, the PS5 would inherit the problem the Xbox Series X currently has, which is cannibalized by its less capable sibling in sales.
Let’s not forget that a video game system is nothing more than a box that allows us to enjoy our favorite titles, if that is put on a silver platter with a system that requires less money , it is normal for most users to invest money in this which is good enough.
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