The Playstation 4 Is “Entering the Final Phase of Its Life Cycle”

The PlayStation 4 is entering the final stage of its console life cycle, according to Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO John Kodera. Kodera announced this in a meeting with investors and tech analysts alike.

PS chief Kodera: PS4 is entering final phase of its life cycle, which would have negative impact to the unit, but recurring revenue via membership services etc should cushion some of that.

— Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj) May 22, 2018

This news was reported via Twitter by Takashi Mochizuki of the Wall Street Journal, and presented through the contextual lens of console revenue and profit margins. The console entering its final phase will have a negative impact on the sale and shelf life of the system, but Kodera and Sony believe that PlayStation Plus and other PlayStation-focused subscription services will cushion that blow, however small or large, to the revenue stream that PlayStation 4 hardware sales bring in.

SIE head Kodera told analysts and investors that the period until March 2021 would be when PlayStation to “crouch down once” to grow further in the future.

hmmmmmm.

— Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj) May 22, 2018

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According to Kodera and the reporting that Mochizuki has done, the PlayStation brand will begin to look past the PlayStation 4 come March 2021. While not entirely surprising, having a concrete timeframe for the rest of the console’s life is still a pretty big deal. The concept of console life cycles, especially in this current console cycle, has grown quite foggy, given the release of half-step systems like the Xbox One X and the PlayStation 4 Pro.

SIE chief Kodera: Beefing up first-party titles wouldn’t just mean more new IPs. Strategy includes franchising successful IPs and refreshing existing IPs.

— Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj) May 22, 2018

Finally, Kodera added that bolstering first-party titles wouldn’t just mean new IPs, but also the revival and bolstering of existing and dormant IPs within the PlayStation wheelhouse.

PlayStation 4 users, it is probably best to go ahead and start whittling away at that obscene backlog that you most likely have.