As part of Sony’s third-quarter earnings report, and as reported by Bloomberg, Sony has described the PlayStation 5 as entering the “latter half” of its life cycle.
“Regarding the PS5 hardware, which will enter its fifth year since launch, partially due to its entering the latter half of the console cycle, we aim to optimize sales with a greater emphasis on the balance with profits, so we anticipate a gradual decline in unit sales from next fiscal year onwards,” reads the relevant section from Sony’s financials.
The report doesn’t elaborate on that statement. Sony doesn’t state that they are working on their next-generation console or an upgraded “Pro” model of the console. They also don’t define how “latter” is “latter,” whether they’re looking to end its lifespan next year or three years from now. Are we at the literal half mark and will see a replacement in 2028? At the very least, it does sound like they’re suggesting the console is past its prime, at least in terms of sales. As they put it, they “anticipate a gradual decline in unit sales from next fiscal year onwards.” furthermore, the same earnings report has Sony cutting back their forecast sales of the console from 25 million to 21 million.
The PlayStation 5 launched in late 2020. It replaced the PlayStation 4, which launched in 2013. This is further proof that time has lost all meaning to me, since the PS4’s lifespan felt abnormally short, so saying that a console barely into its fourth year is in the “latter half” of its life surprises me.
I know that 4-5 years used to be the standard, but it feels like the PS5 has barely established itself. A lot of games, even big-budget releases, still support the PS4, so it hasn’t really felt like a necessary upgrade. Then there’s the fact that the chip shortage during the global pandemic made the PS5 extremely hard to find for a few years.
This statement comes before Microsoft will be giving a business update on the future of the Xbox. Some speculate that the company plans to go multiplatform, effectively removing the brand from competition in the console marketplace. It’s also speculated that this is the year Nintendo will be releasing a successor to the Switch, but it feels like it has been speculated every year for the past few.
It seems unlikely that Sony is planning on ending the PlayStation line at this time, but I have to wonder what a replacement would look like if the PS5 is truly in the “latter half” of its life cycle.
This piece has been edited to clarify a quotation from Sony’s financials.
