"Sony's making so much money with the PS4 that I think they'll continue to milk it."
With Microsoft soon to release their Xbox One X, attention has turned to the highly-expected Sony PlayStation 5. Whether it will release in 2018, or perhaps at a later date.
However, it appears many analysts are divided on the matter. With a range of predictions from 2018 to even the 2020s!
Sony themselves have remained coy on the subject. Earlier in 2017, German website golem.de spoke with their Head of the North America division, Shawn Layden.
In an interview, they directly asked about the highly-anticipated console. However, Shawn answered: “It will probably be some time.”
While this didn’t reveal too much, it did confirm the eventual existence of the Sony PlayStation 5.
As a result, many analysts have made predictions on when the console will release. Considering a number of factors including previous consoles and their financial success. However, this has led many to raise the question of whether the PlayStation 5 will release in 2018.
Sony fans could argue that the console should have a quickly-approaching release date. Microsoft will release the Xbox One X in November 2017. Without a new console from their major competitor, they could potentially have a winning edge.
However, some analysts suggest the console will have a release date of 2019/2020. Alphr explored the time cycles between Sony’s previous generations of consoles. The PlayStation 4 marks as the company’s last major console, back in 2013. Following on a few years later, in 2016, they released the PlayStation 4 Pro.
With this console having such a recent release, Alphr predicts that we may have to wait a few more years before Sony unveil their next generation.
Following on from this, an industrial analyst named Michael Pachter also believes 2019/2020 is a realistic date for the PlayStation 5. His reasoning lies in a different reason; the financial success of the PlayStation 4.
He suggested to PSU: “Sony’s making so much money with the PS4 that I think they’ll continue to milk it as long as they can milk it.” Pachter also believes the PlayStation 4 Pro will follow a similar pattern.
An analyst that disagrees with this is Damian Thong, who suggests it will release in 2018.
Don’t be quick to dismiss his thoughts though. Thong has correctly predicted the launches of both the PlayStation 4 Slim and the Pro. Could he now be a third time lucky?
The release date of the Pro does create a flaw in Thong’s prediction. If the Sony PlayStation 5 did indeed release in 2018, one would argue it means the Pro failed to gain profits.
It seems then the question of the console’s release in 2018 remains unanswered. With analysts divided on the matter, there’s only one company on who we can rely on for confirmation; Sony.
But until then, we can only hope the company will bring the highly-anticipated news sooner rather than later.
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