Image: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Shutterstock, Push Square

As the PS5 generation approaches its sixth year, talk of what comes next has been circulating for a while, and with hardware as pricey as it is, the prospect of a PS6 isn't as exciting as it perhaps should be.

Opinion differs on that, of course, but it's generally accepted that Sony's next-gen machine is going to be eye-wateringly expensive, and it's currently anyone's guess as to whether it'll be worth a purchase.

Shawn Layden, formerly CEO of PlayStation and head of PlayStation Studios, has weighed in on the matter of next generation console hardware in a new interview.

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Speaking on the Trophy Room podcast, he says Sony's best move wouldn't be to create a pricey, brand new console, it would be to revise the current hardware in order to sell it cheaper.

"The typical runway for platforms [is] six to eight years, you get a new one," Layden says. "But typically, that new one brought you something mind-blowing."

He speaks about the various innovative leaps from one console to the next, concluding that the move from PS4 to PS5 was mostly led by raytracing and teraflops. He expects technical aspects like this will be used to sell PS6 as well, but says these are "differences only dogs can hear", implying diminishing returns.

"We have enough power in the machine. The innovation needs to come not from making PS6 for $1200, it's to make another PS5 for $300. Now that would be true innovation."

As Layden points out, the current generation is the first to go up in price rather than down, and he thinks continuing with a PS6 at such a premium price point, and focusing on incremental increases in power, risks alienating the audience.

"What the company needs to do is do what it's never done, which is, don't iterate the console," he says. "Make it smaller, make it cheaper, do all the things you can around that. The silicon is fine, the OS is fine. It's more than enough power to build the kind of games all of us want to play."

While his words of wisdom may ring true for many, Sony itself is forging ahead with its next-gen plans, so we'll likely be faced with a costly new console within the next couple of years.

What do you think? Do you agree with Layden's thoughts on the matter? Tell us in the comments section below.

[source youtube.com, via gamesradar.com]