A big hint at a PS5 and its potential launch date
Sony’s Playstation 4 is entering the ‘final phase of its console life cycle’, according to the company CEO.
A pretty solid hint that the company is preparing for its next, main, console drop.
Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO John Kodera mentioned the health of the platform at Sony Investor Relations Day 2018.
PS chief Kodera: PS4 is entering final phase of its life cycle, which would have negative impact to the unit, but recurring revenue via membership services etc should cushion some of that.
— Takashi Mochizuki (@6d6f636869) May 22, 2018
The length of any “final phase” is open to interpretation, particularly in the context of a sales life cycle, which can refer to a period of years.
SIE head Kodera told analysts and investors that the period until March 2021 would be when PlayStation to "crouch down once" to grow further in the future.
hmmmmmm.
— Takashi Mochizuki (@6d6f636869) May 22, 2018
SIE head Kodera: PSVR growing, but industry's growth is below market expectations. PS Vue is facing harder-than-expected competitions. Vue and PSVR would aim for further growth with realistic outlook.
— Takashi Mochizuki (@6d6f636869) May 22, 2018
It’s already been confirmed that Sony’s E3 briefing won’t include any hardware announcements, by PlayStation executive Shawn Layden.
Does that make March 2021 the earmarked date of a new product launch? Who knows.
Things were drawn out, some would say complicated, by the release of the Playstation 4 Pro.