Sony could be working on new game console that uses game cartridges

Sony-related news are on an upsurge as the company prepares to welcome the next-generation console era with the arrival of the PS5. After keeping detail under wraps for so long, the engineers working on the upcoming gaming system are starting to share information about the machine. While the industry is expecting an all-out battle next year between the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Scarlett, a new patent document leak implies that the Japanese consumer electronics company might have a cartridge-based device.

What gives this speculation some weight is the fact that it comes from LetsGoDigital – the same source that leaked the PS5 dev kit design. According to the publication the patent document was likewise filed with the Brazilian IP outlet, which is exactly where it submitted its application for its new flagship gaming system. Meanwhile, the papers reportedly list Sony senior art director Yujin Morisawa as the inventor. He is the man responsible for designing PlayStation products over the years.

Now that consumers have a basic overview of what the PS5 brings to the table, the latest application for a game cartridge patent comes as a big surprise. As industry analysts know it, the home console will still rely on an optical drive for its games. It will supposedly come with a 4K Blu-ray drive and store games on 100 GB BDXL discs. Moreover, technical performance should get a big boost thanks to the solid-state drive. Therefore, sources believe the new format might be for a yet-to-be-announced handheld device.

Gamers can recall that the last Sony console to use a cartridge format for its games was the PlayStation Vita (PSVita). Sadly, despite being a promising portable platform, it failed to match the popularity of Nintendo's handheld systems.

Experts believe what contributed to its decline was the lack of software support. Others claim it was the company's reluctance to adopt standard memory storage formats. This apparently forced consumers to buy expensive proprietary memory cards form the manufacturer.

It remains to be seen if the Japanese gaming manufacturer's rumoured return to portable gaming will happen in the future. With the PS5 already slated for a 2020 release, development of a new product is possible. The industry might see a two-fold attack wherein Sony will compete against Microsoft's next-generation console and Nintendo's hybrid platform.