This is Niche Gamer Tech. In this column, we regularly cover tech and things related to the tech industry. Please leave feedback and let us know if there’s tech or a story you want us to cover!
We’ve learned that Sony Interactive Entertainment is projecting the PlayStation 4 is at the end of its console life cycle.
The news comes via the new Sony CEO, John Kodera, who in a statement to WSJ said the PlayStation 4 is “finally entering the end of its console life cycle.”
The Sony boss said to analysts and investors that while the console entering the end of its life cycle would have a negative impact on the unit, reoccurring revenue via membership services and related systems should help offset some of that.
Kodera also said that PlayStation VR is growing, but the industry’s growth is below market expectations. PlayStation Vue (their television streaming platform) is facing “harder-than-expected” competition, with both PS Vue and PS VR aiming to further their growth under a realistic outlook.
Kodera also noted that Sony “beefing up first-party titles wouldn’t just mean more new IPs,” and that their strategy includes “franchising successful IPs and refreshing existing IPs.” Naturally, he teased that fans should “expect more exclusive titles for PlayStation Platforms.”
It’s a bit of an odd statement to make less than a month from the biggest game industry convention in the world, this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, but it lines up with typical Sony hardware life cycles.
The PlayStation 4 launched back in 2013 for North America and Europe, followed by a February 2014 release for Japan. Its predecessors have typically been announced six years after the previous hardware console, meaning the fifth Sony home console will probably be revealed next year.
Who knows – anything could happen at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, or later this year at Sony’s annual PlayStation Experience (where they like to announce things as well). Would you like to see a new hardware console from Sony, this soon? Sound off in the comments below!
