Sony is enjoying great success with the PlayStation 5. Pretty much every first-party game launched since the launch of their latest console has been a massive success. They have also been much ahead of their direct competition, Xbox, in every way, giving Nintendo a tough time too. All this has happened thanks to Sony’s dedication to bringing the best exclusives to their platform.
But now its momentum seems to be slowing down. And this is not just an observation; it is in fact the official statement from Sony itself. They have suggested that the demand for Sony’s consoles is going down, and this has officially marked the “latter stage” of the PlayStation 5’s life cycle. And they have already started thinking about the future.
Sony is already planning the end of the PlayStation 5 and the arrival of the next generation
The PlayStation 5 launched back in 2020 to an incredibly positive response from both fans and critics. No surprise here, as this is a console with an an undivided focus on providing its users with the ultimate gaming experience. From its controller to its games, everything just screams immersion. Hence, this console sold so well that by the end of 2023, it sold around 50 million units.
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There have been no updates on the new figures ever since, but recently, Sony senior vice president Naomi Matsuoka suggested that PlayStation 5 has failed to meet the sales targets set by Sony previously. That’s why they announced that the console has entered the latter stage of its life cycle.
Stating this, they even went ahead and reduced the sales target for the financial year ending March 2025. Previously, it was at 25 million, but now it’s at 21. Naomi Matsuoko also said that “looking ahead, PS5 will enter the latter stage of its life cycle. 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.”
These words can mean a lot of things. And one of those things is that Sony has now started actively talking about the PlayStation 6 in-house. It makes sense too; a platform holder has to start developing their next console before the current console reaches its end.
And the rumors about PlayStation 6 have always suggested a 2028 date; it was also leaked last year. Before that, there would be the much-talked-about PlayStation 5 Pro. But new hardware does not sell consoles; it just refreshes a lineup and keeps people interested.
Let’s see how Sony treats its fans during this downtime. Currently, there’s much planned, but nothing is set in stone when it comes to Sony and its next-generation console. But there have been some hints that the next PlayStation might have a focus on cloud streaming. Let’s wait and see how truthful this rumor turns out to be.
This fall in sales does not mean the PlayStation 5 is failing
A console’s sales slowing down never means it’s failing. It just means there’s a downtime going on. This also means that once the platform holder starts releasing some much-awaited titles for its console, sales will once again start rising up.
And it is not as if Sony does not have games to release. It’s just skipping 2024 for any major releases. While there would be a bunch of third-party games releasing, such as Ronin, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, and Silent Hill 2: Remake, there would hardly be a big first-party game coming to PS5 in 2024.
