During last week's earnings call for its Q4 FY25 and full-year 2025 financial report, Sony's executives admitted they haven't decided on the launch timing for the PlayStation 6 due to ongoing memory shortages, and thus very high prices that could drive the system's launch price past what many consider reasonable for a gaming console. According to known AMD leaker KeplerL2, the only reasonable cutbacks Sony could make without gutting the system heavily to keep its price as low as possible would be to reduce the memory bus and the system's RAM.
"Nerfing the specs so much kinda defeats the point of having a next-gen system," said the leaker on the NeoGAF forums in reply to one user suggesting that Sony should release a system with 20 GB RAM and a 500 GB SSD. "I think the only reasonable cutbacks are keeping SSD at 1TB and (if they are really desperate) cutting down mem bus to 128-bit and VRAM to 24GB."
Some users are dubious that cutting down the memory bus to 128-bit wouldn't save enough to be worth it, but that is not the case, according to KeplerL2. "It would be a $60 BOM reduction at current G7 prices, plus you get a yield boost for the SoC by being able to harvest MC (memory controller) defects." Cutting down the memory bus also wouldn't require any major rework for the APU, as it would just require disabling one memory controller.
Others suggested that cutting down the memory bus in favor of the total RAM of the PlayStation 6 wouldn't be ideal, but developers would "much prefer 24GB with bit a lower performance," according to KeplerL2. Seeing how doubling the RAM allows a Nintendo Switch to run a game like Final Fantasy VII Remake better than expected, this is quite easy to believe.
If current economic conditions force Sony to cut back on some PlayStation 6 features, the company would have an even harder time pushing PS5 owners to upgrade. Hopefully, the Japanese company will be able to navigate these troubled waters and truly provide the next-generation experiences gamers are expecting.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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