PlayStation 5 release date rumors: Console coming out late 2016?

Speculations about the next PlayStation console, the PlayStation 5, have begun to intensify as virtual reality technology continues to progress.

According to reports, Sony is planning to release the PlayStation 5 later this year. The speculations began after it was reported that the release of the PlayStation VR headset in 2016 is actually the gaming company's front to launch the next edition of the company's popular gaming console.

According to Daily Star UK, speculations among gaming industry insiders were ignited after they learned that a patent for a glove-based controller also contains a wider scope for a still-unlaunched cloud-based game system. This prompted the experts to believe that the system will be the successor to Sony's PlayStation 4.

However, other rumors claim that the next Sony gaming console will not be released until 2019 or 2020, since VR technology is expected to be mainstream by that time.

Sony has yet make an official announcement regarding the release date of PlayStation 5 as well as its specs. Three Fields Entertainment's Chief Technical Officer Paul Ross talked to Edge to discuss what PlayStation 5 could possibly look like.

"So what does a PS5 game look like? With PS4 we've seen some fidelity put into the worlds, but PS5's going to be about more dynamic worlds, far more interactive worlds that are more believable in the way they behave," Ross stated, as reported by PlayStation Lifestyle.

However, Sony Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida answered a fan's question via PlayStation France's Twitter account about the possible release of PlayStation 5. According to the translated reply from PlayStation Lifestyle, Shuhei said that "PS5 doesn't exist so there's no future PS5 to talk about."

But in an interview in April 2014, Shuhei told Re/code that the game creators will determine if they still need a PlayStation 5.

"If they still feel that we need more machine power – 'We want to realize this and that and that, but we cannot do [it] with PS4′ – if that's the case, there's a good reason to have PS5, so that developers can create their vision. So, we'll see," the PlayStation executive revealed.