Sony and the PS4 had a terrific 2017 and went on to sell 20 Million units, while the Xbox One lagged behind most of the year but still managed to beat the PS4 largely due to the Xbox One X during the month of December in the USA. However the year 2017 belonged to one Nintendo Switch who came out of nowhere to capture the hearts and minds of the entire gaming community.
The Switch has done tremendously well for a console which was first considered to be Dead On Arrival. Indeed the Switch has defied expectations with some amazing software and has gone on to sell more than 10 million units in it’s launch year.
With everything that is going on it’s at times hard to remember that the PS4 and the Xbox One came out at the end of 2013. Come November 2018 both the consoles will be 5 years old and this raises a very important question of whether we will be seeing a PS5 or a Xbox Two somewhere around 2020?
There have been rumors that Sony is actually looking to release a PS5 in a couple of years time. With even PlayStation boss Shawn Layden saying that it was in the works but it would be some time before it releases.
However any 9th generation consoles release has been made tricky due to the change in the console cycle . Both Sony and Microsoft have opted for a mid-generation upgrade with the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X. Both the consoles make use of the 4K technology which in laymen terms result in better graphics and fidelity on your Tv Screens.
One would assume that these mid-generation updates would affect the release dates of a potential PS5 or a Xbox Two. Yet that might not necessarily be the case.
According to Christopher Dring who is a publisher at GamesIndustry.biz the PS4 and Xbox One generation is now past it’s peak and the countdown now starts for a PS5 and a Xbox Two.
I do think PS4 has hit its peak though, now
— Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring)
I believe the current PS4/Xbox One generation is now past its peak. The countdown begins to PS4/Xbox Two. I wonder if they'll stay on the path of more power, or be influenced by Switch's popularity
— Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring)
Interestingly enough Dring raises a very important question with the Nintendo Switch’s success does it make sense to go for more power? Here is a console which is in terms of hardware significantly weaker than both the Xbox One and PS4 and yet it has had an amazing year and has gone on to sell in excess of 10 Million units.
For the record, I'm only using Switch to highlight how well PS4 continues to do. I'm not downplaying the 12 – 13 million Switch consoles sold last year. Amazing for year one sales
— Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring)
There have been previous suggestions by Industry experts such as Wedbush Securities Michael Pachter and IDC’s Lewis Ward that a potential PS5 might be a couple of years away. With the former opting for a 2020 release date with a backwards compatible PS5 and the later predicting a 2021 release date for a prospective PS5 and a Xbox Two.
Technically speaking the 9th Generation of video game consoles is already underway with the Nintendo Switch , despite the fact that in terms of hardware it performs as a 7th Generation console. What remains to be seen is whether Sony and Microsoft follow suit with an announcement in the year 2019 and a release in 2020?
I believe that Sony has a ton of amazing exclusive for the next couple of years and hence they can keep their userbase engaged for the near future hence they don’t really need to announce a PS5 anytime soon, however the same cannot be said about Microsoft and it needs to be seen whether powerful hardware alone can sustain the Xbox brand for the next couple of years.
Either way I think both the consoles will come out somewhere around 2020 and till then both the company’s will look to rely on their mid-gen upgrades and in the case of PS4 their amazing lineup of exclusives.
