A new report surfaced earlier today, revealing that trusted sources estimate that the life cycle of Sony's PS5 is five years. Traditionally, gaming console life cycles are about six years from the current to the next with the PS3 and PS4 getting seven years interval. But, if the latest report is to go by, it looks like Sony's next-gen console's life cycle would be the shortest.
PS5 Life Cycle
The latest report about the life cycle of Sony's PS5 comes from the Taiwan-based publication Digitimes. The publication cites sources from the Japanese company's back-end supply chain in Taiwan, making a claim. These sources also reportedly estimate that the PS5 would ship between 120 and 170 million within the five years life span.
While the figures seem staggering, it is worth mentioning that Sony sold 110 million PlayStation 4 consoles after more than six years since the console's launch. Digitimes also claims that the estimates given by Sony's back-end supply chain in the region are anticipated to double the Xbox Series X's lifetime shipments within the same period. Granting that the latest report is accurate, the industry now has the idea of when to expect the successor of the PS5.
With this estimated life cycle, Sony could launch the PS6 or whatever it wants to call the successor of the PS5 after five years.
Sony Increases PS5 Production
The latest claim of the Taiwan-based publication seemingly supports reports that Sony is increasing the production of the PS5 for this year. Bloomberg earlier reported that the Japanese gaming giant doubled the shipment of its next-gen gaming console to around 10 million units for this year alone. Sony previously said that its production target for the PS5 is around six million units by March 2021.
But, the report claimed that this initial production might not be able to meet the rising demands of gamers considering the shipping restraints. Also, an ample supply of the PS5 would solve Sony's potential supply problem, given the effects of the novel coronavirus all over the world.
Meanwhile, Sony is anticipated to release two models of the PS5. These are the PS5 standard edition and the PS5 Digital Edition. The standard edition would feature an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive while the digital edition would allow gamers to purchase titles available in the PlayStation network.
Sony has not yet announced the specific release date of the PS5. Until now, it sticks with the holiday 2020 release window. Sony is anticipated to hold another PS5 event in August.
