With only a few months to go before the launch of next-gen consoles, both Sony and Microsoft have now laid their cards on the table, having announced launch dates and prices for their upcoming machines.
However, despite the massive levels of hype, one can argue that there is no particular reason to pick up a next-gen console at launch: besides the lack of exclusive games, all these machines will offer at the beginning is sharper visuals thanks to 4K support and (admittedly) greatly improved load times thanks to their cutting-edge SSD drives.
And those PS4 owners who are in no rush to upgrade to a PS5 will be glad to know that Sony is planning to support the PS4 for a couple of years still, as Sony boss Jim Ryan told The Washington Post in an interview (via GameSpot).
“The PS4 community will continue to be incredibly important to us for three or four years”, said Sony’s CEO, adding that “many will transition to PS5, we hope if we do our job well, but tens of millions will still be engaged with the PS4”.
This makes sense taking into account that the PS4 is Sony’s best-selling console after the PS2, with more than 100 million PS4s in consumer hands.
There is also another reason console gamers might want to stick to the PS4 for the time being: this is that major games like Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Horizon Forbidden West will also be hitting the PS4, with Sony backing away from its plan of making these PS5 exclusives.
This tied to the fact that the PS4 is still a capable machine which can run incredible games like The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima, means we could be seeing games come out for the PS4 well into the future, with the console’s lifespan extending beyond another 4 years. After all, the PS2 was around for a whopping 13 years, with Sony discontinuing the machine in 2013 (coincidentally the year of the PS4’s launch).
Of course, with all the buzz and excitement generated by the launch of the PS5, it’s clear many people will be picking up one this fall. Sony already announced a worldwide release date of September 19 for the machine, and given how things turned out once pre-orders went live (the discless version of the console, which sells for $400, was sold out almost everywhere), the PS5 could be selling like hot cakes in its launch year.
Although thankfully Sony has said it has not run into manufacturing troubles with the PS5, meaning those interested in pick one up at launch might still be able to get hold of a PS5 this year.
But it’s also good to know that the PS4 will still be supported for years to come by Sony, meaning there’s still plenty of life left in the PS4 and plenty of fun to be had with it in the future too…