Sony Prepares For PS6 As PS5 Approaches "Latter Stage" In Life Cycle

Sony has confirmed that the PlayStation 5 is entering the latter stage of its life cycle. Sony's latest console only launched in November 2020, and a new mid-generation model was released in November 2023 with upgraded storage and a modular design that allowed players to add an Ultra HD Blu-Ray Disc Drive to digital-only versions of the console at a later date.

As the average duration of a console generation is about 6 years, this refresh made sense three years after the console's original launch. In an interview with Bloomberg, Sony senior vice president Naomi Matsuoka stated that “” as the company expects the sales pace of the PS5 hardware "" which begins April 2024 and runs until the end of March 2025.

The PlayStation 5, along with the Xbox Series X had a difficult launch, both releasing during the COVID-19 pandemic and having online-only launches as a result. This led to a combination of manufacturing constraints reducing the number of consoles being made, and scalpers using bots to quickly purchase many that did go on sale with the intent of reselling them at incredibly inflated price points. Therefore, many gamers didn't acquire a current-gen console until some time into the console generation when these issues were overcome.

​​​​​​While there were titles such as the remake that launched alongside the PS5 as a current-gen exclusive, others that were marketed as huge selling points for the then new-gen device, such as also received PS4 releases, and the cross-gen releases continued for years with other major PlayStation exclusives such as. It's only been in recent years that players have begun to experience more of what the PS5's hardware can do, with PS5 exclusive titles such as using the SSD to overhaul how fast travel can work in an open-world game, practically removing loading screens entirely and enabling players to travel to any point on the map without the need for specific waypoints.

Therefore, while Sony is most likely looking forward to the