The next PlayStation console is still more than a year out, PS4 sales numbers slow down

After finally getting some concrete details on the next PlayStation console a couple weeks back from lead architect Mark Cerny, new information has emerged courtesy of today’s earnings call. As profit margins on Sony’s current generation machine are expected to dwindle quite significantly over the next year or so, the company is citing investment in PS5 as one reason. All that plus additional details on when we are expecting the next generation console to arrive are down below.

The Next PlayStation Console:

The next PlayStation console is turning out to be an exciting one for gamers. Just a few of the main features given by Cerny this month include ray tracing for advanced lighting treatments, 8K resolutions, backwards compatibility and a speedy built-in SSD. But if you were expecting a launch date sometime in early 2020, think again.

Next PlayStation Console still more than a year out:

Following this morning’s earnings announcement, the folks at Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) offered some more details on when, or rather when not to expect the upcoming PlayStation 5 (or whatever it might be called). The Wall Street Journal dropped a series of tweets based on those comments assuring gamers and investors we would not see the next PlayStation console release anytime before April of 2020. Cerny is adamant the PS5 won’t make an appearance in 2019, but we now know it won’t appear until at least the middle of 2020 or so.

Profits Dwindle as PS5 Investment Skyrockets:

After remaining on top of the charts this console generation, Sony is now expecting much lower profit margins for the next year. The 19 million PS4 consoles Sony sold in 2017 has dropped to about 17.8 million in the last 365 days. Profit from its gaming division will drop about 10% next year as well. Those figures are likely hinged on the fact that we aren’t expecting any game changing PlayStation titles this year (yet, anyway) and the company’s choice to skip E3 2019 all together.

However, as part of the SIE’s comments this morning, it sounds like profit margins are also being affected to some degree due to Sony’s investment in the next PlayStation console. The company will be dropping close to $278 million (31.1 billion yen) this year directly into development of the next generation PlayStation according to the WSJ. 

9to5Toy’s Take:

While the drop in profits at Sony may seem somewhat discouraging, the company is clearly dumping loads of cash in to PlayStation 5. PS4 is still drastically ahead of its closest competitors as well. Xbox One hovers at around 39.1 million which is just ahead of Nintendo Switch at around 34.75 million. However, both of which are well under the 96.8 million PS4 units that are now out in the wild. Even with new gaming hardware looming at both Nintendo and Microsoft, Sony’s gigantic lead in the race, dedication to investing millions and the impressive array of specs Cerny quoted, Sony is leaving us more than confident about the the next PlayStation console.

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