Something interesting to be said about Sony’s next-generation console: it’s uncertain whether the PlayStation 6 will have enough memory.

Although the PlayStation 6 is expected to have more RAM than the PlayStation 5 and 5 Pro, which have 16 GB, Digital Foundry editors claim that the next-gen system won’t have much more memory than current consoles for a number of reasons. In their weekly podcast, Digital Foundry editors responded to a listener’s question about how much RAM next-generation PlayStation consoles will have.

Considering what can already be done with 16 GB and the current limitations with textures and art assets, 24 GB of RAM seems reasonable. Extra RAM compared to current systems will be necessary for machine learning and advanced ray tracing, both of which have been hinted at as part of PlayStation’s future. Additionally, DRAM prices are high and haven’t fallen significantly in recent years, so this will undoubtedly be a limiting factor. If the rumored PlayStation handheld is real, it will likely have 16 GB of RAM. This makes 24 GB of RAM for the desktop console a more reasonable choice for developers targeting both platforms with their games.

However, it’s harder to make predictions about the next-gen Xbox because Microsoft may compete with pre-built PCs rather than directly against the PlayStation 6. Therefore, a premium console could easily have a larger APU and more RAM than Sony’s platform. According to Digital Foundry, Microsoft recently studied launching a “PC-in-a-box” rather than a flagship console. They pointed out that costs have risen dramatically, making such a system an unattractive option for consoles.

However, there is a price gap in the pre-built PC market between the cheapest systems and consoles that could be filled by such a platform. Therefore, there is certainly scope for introducing a PC-in-a-box with better specifications than Sony’s next-generation console. Nowadays, though, there are games for which the recommended PC system requirement is 32 GB of RAM.

Source: WCCFTech