If you were expecting Sony’s next-gen PlayStation 5 console to arrive in a year or two, you are going to be disappointed. The Japanese company is selling so many PS4 consoles that it’s in no hurry to bring PS5 to the market anytime soon. A reputed analyst says the PlayStation 5 launch date is still at least 3-4 years away. The console won’t hit the store shelves before 2021.
How the PS4 affects the PlayStation 5 launch date
Sony hasn’t yet talked about the PS5. The company released the PS4 Pro earlier this year, which sold briskly during the holiday shopping season. In an interview with GamingBolt, IDC’s research director for gaming Lewis Ward said Sony and Microsoft would launch their next generation of consoles in 2021. The analyst added that it’s “just a tentative placeholder in my forecast.”
The PlayStation 5 launch date is a long time away, but Sony isn’t worried. Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter recently told investors that the PS4 Pro would eventually become the default PS4, and the PS4 prices would be slashed to $250 to attract more customers. Pachter believes the PS4 sales numbers would have an impact on the PlayStation 5 launch date.
Pachter said in a research note that Sony was making so much money with the PS4 that the company would “continue to milk it as long as they can.” The PS4 sales momentum hasn’t slowed yet. The analyst expects the PS4 to keep selling in large numbers through 2017 and 2018. If the sales show a sign of slowing in 2019, Sony could bring the PS5 in 2020, said Michael Pachter.
The Wedbush Securities analyst believes that the PlayStation 5 would be Sony’s “real 4K device.” It would also offer backward compatibility with the PS4 Pro games. It means like Xbox One X, the PS5 would be able to play games made for the PS4 Pro. Pachter added that he expects the PS5 to be priced below $500. A higher price would affect the sales of the console. No one knows it better than Microsoft. Xbox One X is a powerful console but it isn’t selling in large numbers.
Last month, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said during the game developer’s quarterly earnings call that by launching the mid-generation PS4 Pro, Sony had shown its commitment to the current generation of consoles. Guillemot believes the PlayStation 5 release is at least a couple of years away. He added that he doesn’t have “any confidential information on that front.”
Ubisoft offers strong support to Sony. As we know, developing launch titles generally requires at least a year of lead time. It means Ubisoft would be among the first to know if Sony is planning to release the PlayStation 5 in a year or two, which it is not. Ubisoft is the developer behind Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Far Cry 5, Rainbow Six: Siege, and many other popular games.
PS4 to reach 100 million sales milestone in 2019
With the PlayStation 5 launch date still a long time away, gamers can enjoy the PS4 or PS4 Pro that are both impressive. Shawn Layden, President of Sony Interactive Entertainment America, recently told German media that the PS5 was indeed “coming.” If the PS5 comes out in 2021, it would give the PS4 a lifespan of eight years.
IDC’s research director Lewis Ward told GamingBolt that the PlayStation 4 would be able to achieve the 100 million sales milestone by 2019. Sony has already sold more than 70 million units of PS4. Microsoft’s Xbox One sales are so far behind the PS4 that the Redmond company has stopped reporting Xbox sales numbers altogether.
PlayStation 5 features and specs
Not much is known about the PlayStation 5’s features and specs. Industry experts predict it would offer backward compatibility with the PS4 games and come with true 4K resolution. Considering the 4K content would require a lot of storage space, we expect the PlayStation 5 to have at least 1TB of internal storage. The rumor mill claims Sony could bring virtual reality with the PS5.
Gamers would also want the upcoming console to have wireless charging capabilities. It is still 3-4 years away, which gives Sony plenty of time to incorporate wireless charging technology into the console. According to the Express UK, Sony could remove the physical disc slot from the PS5. It means the console would rely entirely on downloadable copies instead of discs.
However, Electronic Arts CFO Blake Jorgensen hopes Sony would keep the disc drives on the PS5. Jorgensen told Gamespot that consoles and disc drives would “stay around for a long period of time.” It will be up to the gamers to decide what they feel more comfortable with – buying a physical disc or purchasing a digital copy online.
