The consoles of the PS5 and Xbox Series
According to foreign media GamesIndustry, MiHoYo’s announcement that “Genshin Impact” will stop supporting PS4 is not an isolated case. “Many large online and long-term service game manufacturers” are also considering when to stop supporting PS4. Some developers are abandoning old-generation consoles for technical reasons, just like MiHoYo; and reports indicate that another reason is that the installed base of current-generation consoles is large enough, giving some publishers the confidence to completely switch to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Sony has confirmed that PS5 shipments have reached 80.3 million units, so it is not surprising to hear that developers are preparing to say goodbye to the old generation console. However, this generation of consoles has just entered the "real generation stage" and may not last long - there are already many rumors about Sony and Microsoft's next generation consoles, saying that they will be launched in the next few years.
According to these rumors, both the PS6 and the next-generation Xbox will represent a change of direction: Sony is said to be committed to providing a machine that can achieve 4K and 120 frames while controlling costs, while Microsoft intends to use the flexibility brought by the Magnus APU to launch more types of console systems, not necessarily competing with traditional consoles, but benchmarking gaming PCs.
Therefore, amid many challenges and changes, the gaming industry may undergo huge changes in the future, and even the concepts of "console generation" and "cross-generation transition period" may become history.