Sony has filed a new patent for a "Scalable game console CPU/GPU design" that may hint they are exploring options for a PS5 Pro.
The patent, filed in January and first published on June 30, describes creating a "multi-GPU simulation environment" that could increase the performance of a games console.
This technology is not present in Sony's recently released PlayStation 5 console, suggesting that Sony could instead be making plans for their next console, the PS5 Pro.
Despite the patent being published and reported earlier in the year, the PS5 Pro began trending on Twitter on December 3.
READ MORE: PS5 visual output: Will you need a 4K TV for PS5?
Sony's new Multiple GPU patent explained
While the patent, available to view here, makes reference to cloud-based gaming, the most surprising innovation comes from its multiple GPU technology.
A single chip, referred to in the patent as a "system on a chip", or SoC, comprises a GPU and a CPU. The patent explains by combining these SoC's to form a larger chip can optimise performance and fix scaling issues at a lower price than "a huge monolithic chip."
In comparing the use of a single SoC to multiple SoC's, Sony's patent explains that "a single chip may be provided for a "light" version of the console."
A system of plural SoC's with multiple GPUs, however, "may be used to provide a "high-end" version of the console with "greater storage and processing capabilities" compared to the 'light' console.
If we apply these 'light' and 'high-end' labels to the PlayStation, the light version could reference the base PlayStation 5, while a high-end version might be a PlayStation 5 Pro.
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Should Sony create a PlayStation 5 Pro?
While the need for a PlayStation 4 Pro was based on the growing demand for a 4K-compatible console, a PS5 Pro does not, at least right now, seem necessary given the impressive specs of the base PS5 and the seeming lack of demand for 8K-compatible tech, especially as the PS5 has the capabilities to support 8K.
Of course, this is just speculation coming from a Sony patent which, if we base it on previous patents such as this odd PlayStation robot, may not come to anything.
Who knows, maybe this technology might be introduced for the PlayStation 6, rumoured to be a lot closer than you might think.
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