Rumors this week are flying about new “Orbis” development kits being shipped out to developers. Orbis is the codename for Sony’s next-generation console, which will undoubtedly be PlayStation branded. Not much has been leaked about the next generation of consoles (except the Wii U, of course), especially from Sony.
VG24/7 cites multiple unnamed sources as confirming that the new dev kits have been shipped, housed in PC cases. They claim that the current state of the kit is as a “modified PC” and that a January dev kit will more closely resemble the eventual console, with a final dev kit shipping sometime next summer.
The few rumors about Orbis that have leaked hold that the console will run on an AMD processor and support 4K resolutions. VG24/7’s sources say that the new kit’s processor is “based on” the AMD A10 APU series, combining the CPU and graphics processor. The kits also have 8GB or 16GB of RAM, a 256GB hard drive, and a Blu-ray drive.
The report also states that the goal for the console is to run 3D games at 1080p resolutions. Another goal is, evidently, to make the console more affordable. That’s a different strategy than the one Sony used for the PlayStation 3, which fell behind in the current generation of console wars because of its high launch price.