The PlayStation 5, Sony’s latest console, is entering the “latter stages” of its life cycle, according to the company’s senior vice president Naomi Matsuoka. This comes as a surprise to many gamers, who have struggled to get their hands on the PS5 since its launch in November 2020.
PS5 Sales Fall Short of Expectations
Sony had set an ambitious target of selling 25 million PS5 units in the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2025. However, the company has now revised its forecast down to 21 million units, after PS5 sales during the holiday 2023 quarter came in lower than expected.
Sony sold 8.2 million PS5s in the third quarter of 2023, up from 7.1 million in the same quarter of the previous year. But this was not enough to meet Sony’s lofty target, which was based on the strong demand and positive reviews for the PS5.
The PS5 has been plagued by supply chain issues and global chip shortages, which have made it difficult for Sony to produce enough consoles to meet the demand. The PS5 has also faced stiff competition from its rival, the Xbox Series X, which has been more widely available and has attracted more subscribers to its Game Pass service.
PS5 Will Enter the “Latter Stage” of Its Life Cycle
According to Bloomberg, Matsuoka said that Sony expects the sales pace of the PS5 to start falling from the next fiscal year, which begins in April 2024 and runs until March 2025.
“Looking ahead, PS5 will enter the latter stage of its life cycle,” Matsuoka said. “As such, we will put more emphasis on the balance between profitability and sales. For this reason, we expect the annual sales pace of PS5 hardware will start falling from the next fiscal year.”
This means that Sony is already preparing for the next generation of consoles, which could be the PS6. The PS5, which launched in November 2020, will turn four years old in November 2024. Typically, consoles have a life cycle of about seven years, but this could vary depending on the market conditions and technological innovations.
One game that could be a launch title for the PS6 is Physint, a new action-espionage game from Hideo Kojima, the creator of the Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding franchises. Kojima has said that work on the game will begin “in earnest” at his studio, Kojima Productions, after the release of Death Stranding 2, which is expected to come out in 2025.
PS5 Still Has a Lot to Offer
Despite Sony’s announcement, the PS5 still has a lot of great content to offer to gamers in the coming years. The PS5 has a strong lineup of exclusive games, such as God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, Gran Turismo 7, and Spider-Man 2, which are expected to release before April 2025.
The PS5 also has some innovative features, such as the DualSense controller, which provides haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, and the 3D audio, which creates a more immersive sound experience. The PS5 also supports 4K resolution, 120 frames per second, and ray tracing, which enhance the graphics and performance of the games.
The PS5 is also compatible with most of the PS4 games, which means that gamers can enjoy a vast library of titles on the new console. The PS5 also has a backward compatibility feature, which allows gamers to play some of the PS3, PS2, and PS1 games on the PS5 via the PlayStation Now streaming service.
The PS5 may be nearing the end of its life cycle, but that does not mean that it is obsolete or irrelevant. The PS5 still has a lot of potential and possibilities, and gamers can look forward to many more hours of fun and entertainment on the console.
