After announcing that the PlayStation 5 (PS5) has shipped 54.8 million units worldwide, Sony is saying that the console is heading into “the latter stage of its life cycle”.
According to Sony senior vice president Naomi Matsuoka, the company expects the sales of the system to start falling over the next year.
“Looking ahead, PS5 will enter the latter stage of its life cycle,” Matsuoka said via Bloomberg. “As such, we will put more emphasis on the balance between profitability and sales. For this reason, we expect the annual sales pace of PS5 hardware will start falling from the next fiscal year.”
The PlayStation 5 first released in November 2020, and has consistently been outselling the Xbox Series X|S during the current generation. Sony recently released a refresh of the console with a detachable disc drive.
There have been rumors of a PS5 Pro in the works from Sony, but the company has yet to hint at anything coming. As far as the next generation goes, Microsoft expected the PlayStation 6 to launch in 2028, according to court documents from last year.
One thing to note, while Matsuoka is quoted as saying the console is entering the latter “stage” of its life, the public report that Sony released states that the PS5 is entering the latter “half” of the cycle.
What do you think of Sony saying the PS5 is heading towards the end of its lifecycle? For more Insider Gaming, read about the PlayStation Network having more users than ever.
