Do you miss cartridges? Sony seems to. Only this weekend, it has been revealed that the giant corporation patented the technology at Brazil’s National Institute of Industrial Property, and the first thought on everyone's minds is that they could be used for the long-awaited PlayStation 5. A 3D render of the patent's description gives a good idea of what the as of yet unconfirmed concept could look like.
The new PlayStation console, confirmed for the holiday season of 2020, could - for the first time in their existence - opt for the usage of cartridges. It is not unlikely that they will go for a dual system, as it has been confirmed that the console will double as a BluRay player, which by definition means it will have a disc drive. Cartridges also usually offer less storage than discs, but that does not have to mean anything, considering that Sony's first-ish foray into this territory would be expected to boost the technology.
First reported by LetsGoDigital, the patent was filed at the same Brazilian office where they also patented the Sony PS5 Developers Kit that showed a seriously weird-looking console. One of the theories surrounding the cartridge mystery is that Sony is rumored to ship the PS5 with an internal SSD, and that additional proprietary SSDs could be sold to increase overall storage while keeping the price tag of the console relatively low.
Another popular theory is that the PS5 could be followed by another handheld like the PlayStation Vita that died a not-really-tragic death back in March of this year. But even back in 2018, it was announced that the company had no plans for another handheld, although there is certainly the possibility that they've changed their minds in the meantime. But the company has also previously patented a cartridge, so many want to believe that this is not yet another case of a patent that will never see the light of day.
Regardless of the purpose it might serve (if it does), the design follows Sony's style in grey and blue, but otherwise does not look too cutting-edge. As pretty as it may be, there's only one way to say it: nobody has any idea what it could really be used for. As with a myriad other things pertaining to PlayStation 5, it seems we will have to sit still until the company decides to do an official reveal.
But does anyone really want to sit still?