Analysts told that Sony plans to release an updated version of the PlayStation 5 this year after cutting sales forecasts for its flagship game console.
This move increases interest in the PlayStation 5, which will be ramped up in preparation for his 2025 release of Grand Theft Auto VI, one of his most anticipated games of the decade. Analysts say the aim is to provide advanced hardware.
Sony’s PlayStation 5 was first made available in November 2020, making it more than three years old. The behemoth of Japanese video games reduced its forecast last week from 25 million to 21 million PS5 sales for the fiscal year that ends in March. During the company’s results call last week, an executive stated that Sony anticipates a “gradual decline” in unit sales starting in the upcoming fiscal year.
When this was the case in past console cycles, game companies tried to release the latest hardware to boost sales. For example, about three years after the PS4 was first released, Sony released a “Pro” version of its previous generation console, the PlayStation 4.
Analysts are currently expecting a PlayStation 5 Pro from Sony.
“There seems to be broad consensus in the gaming industry that Sony is indeed preparing to launch the PS5 Pro in late 2024,” said Kantan Games, CEO of Tokyo-based gaming consultancy.
“And Sony will want to make sure to have a great piece of hardware ready when GTA VI hits in 2025, a launch that will be a shot in the arm for the entire gaming industry.”
So far last year, Sony has released a slightly improved PS5 and a handheld gaming console called the PlayStation Portal. However, the PS5 Pro will likely be a much bigger upgrade.
While expectations for new game consoles are rising, Sony is grappling with a major problem: profit margins in its core gaming business are near the lowest in a decade.
Sony executives said at an earnings conference that the goal of the game business is to “optimize sales with a greater emphasis on the balance with profits.”
Omdia Senior Principal Analyst George Ziziashvili said this means Sony may not lower the price of the current PS5 even if the PS5 Pro is released, as has been the trend in the past. He said it could mean that.
“Therefore, a scenario where Sony launches as PS5 Pro, but still experiences a declining year-on-year hardware sales is very much within the realms of possibility,” Jijiashvili said.