Recently, Hideaki Nishino, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) Platform Business Group, mentioned the life cycle of PS5 in an interview with Famitsu. He believes that the life cycle of PS5 will be as long as PS4, but this does not mean a delay in launching a new generation of products. PS4 and PS3 have the longest life cycles of 7 years, so it is speculated that PS6 may be launched in 2027.
The original text of the interview is as follows:
——PS4 has been released for more than 10 years and is still active in the market. The life cycle of the hardware seems to be getting longer and longer. So what are your expectations for PS5?
Nishino: I think the life cycle of PS5 will be as long as PS4. But while life cycles may be extended, that doesn't mean the introduction of new generations of products can be delayed. The timing of rolling out new hardware is closely tied to advances in technology and the timetable in which we can implement them. Therefore, we hope that while existing hardware continues to provide entertainment, we can also introduce new technologies to gradually expand the entire ecosystem.
--I see. In other words, players may also start using new hardware while using PS5.
Nishino: For example, PS4 has promoted automated production since the mid-term, and the quality of the hardware is very high. Therefore, players can use it for a long time. Of course, PS5 has been automated production from the beginning. In the future, we hope to expand the market through a two-pronged approach of "using existing hardware for a long time + introducing new technologies".
——Considering that PS5 Pro has been in preparation since about 2020, it seems that the next generation console is also already under development. Will you continue to look forward and prepare in advance?
Nishino: We believe that product launch is a balance of technology, price and timing. We are always considering when to launch products that best meet market demand.
——Some people sometimes predict that "the next generation of game consoles will no longer be hardware, but will completely turn to the cloud." Do you think PlayStation will continue to be home console-centric in the future, or is it likely to undergo a major structural shift?
Nishino: Currently, many players are still enjoying games on PS4, and the number of PS5 games is also increasing. I don't think this situation will suddenly change drastically tomorrow. Therefore, home game consoles will remain the core of our business for some time to come.
However, different types of platforms such as PC are also increasing, so we are thinking about how to further increase the number of PlayStation users through including PSN. Although some people may misunderstand what I mean, if cloud gaming can be performed on PSPortal and PS5 games can be run, then some people may think that gaming has entered the cloud era. However, players still need controllers and displays in their hands, so we believe hardware will remain essential in the future.