PS5 Is Entering the Latter Stage of Its Life Cycle

The PlayStation 5 has entered the second half of its life cycle, according to several senior Sony officials. Apart from hinting at how much longer the ninth console generation will last, the Japanese gaming giant also just cut its PS5 sales forecast, in addition to confirming some previously considered plans that might help it fund further acquisitions.

Since its late 2020 debut, the PS5 has been outselling the Xbox Series X/S two-to-one. And while the system's lifetime shipments hit 54.8 million units as of December 31, its last-quarter performance still fell short of internal expectations. Sony has consequently cut its PS5 sales forecast for its fiscal year 2023, which ends in March 2024, from 25 million to 21 million units. The move was announced as part of the group's latest consolidated financial report on February 14.

That detailed overview of the company's last-quarter performance saw Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki assert that the PS5 has already entered «the latter half» of its life cycle. The remark was offered as part of the executive's explanation for why the console's sales were slowing down. Sony SVP Naomi Matsuoka echoed a similar sentiment, describing the ninth-generation console as being in the «latter stage of its life cycle,» Bloomberg reports. Both statements indicate that the PS6 is targeting a release no later than 2028.

Totoki's overview of the company's near-future prospects saw the CFO confirm that no new «major» titles from existing PlayStation franchises will be released during the coming fiscal year, which runs from April 2024 to March 2025. Sony hence won't have an immediate first-party heavy-hitter that could follow up on the incredible critical success of The Last of Us 2 Remastered, which debuted on January 19.

Regarding the PS5 hardware, which will enter its fifth year since launch, partially due to its entering the latter half of the console cycle, we aim to optimize sales with a greater emphasis on the balance with profits, so we anticipate a