Rumors have begun to arise that are raising questions about the technological abilities of the upcoming next-generation console that Sony has headed down their pipeline. People have been questioning whether the PlayStation 5 will be performing to the capabilities players expect it to.
But the question that people don’t seem to be asking is whether or not these sources are reliable. We’ve placed a tweet below that seems to be the primary source of many of these rumors that are making the rounds about social media.
“Talk to the devs working on the games, I know several,” claims someone named Jeff Rickel. “I also know people developing directly for Sony. I work in the business in another sector. The collective feeling is Sony screwed up this gen. They underestimated MS (Microsoft) and were overconfident. Expect delays to the PS5 and heating problems to rival the Xbox 360. Sony is really concerned right now.”
So let’s hop into these rumors and see whether this is something you should believe, or even be paying attention to. A screenshot of Rickel’s analysis has made its rounds through Twitter and been posted to Reddit a few times. Names as big as Daniel Rubino, the executive editor of Windows Central, have reposted and spread Rickel’s words throughout the gaming community.
First off, who is Jeff Rickel, and what authority do they have to speak on this? Googling the name Jeff Rickel returns the result of a couple of LinkedIn profiles and a singer-songwriter named Jeff Rickel’s self-published Christian music album. There’s nothing that would emphasize this Jeff Rickel being a figure of authority in the gaming sector, much less specific to Sony. Ultimately, their credibility comes down to a combination of “Dude-just-trust-me” and “I-know-a-guy,” so you really don’t need to put much stock into their words.
But what about the words themselves? Is Rickel saying anything worthwhile here? No, not really. A rumor of “expect delays” is worthless in today’s climate, where the vast majority of development teams are working remotely from home. Dozens upon dozens of projects have been delayed, and while Sony has insisted they won’t be impacted by the production delays from the COVID-19 pandemic, they can’t foresee all challenges.
Ultimately, the main test of whether these rumors are true will only come from the confirmation or rejection from the release of the PlayStation 5 and what condition it’s in. But when it comes to whether or not these rumors are any more credible than any other random YouTube account, there’s nothing here that deserves your belief or attention.