Sony hosted its 2022 Business Segment Briefings this week, and according to a presentation by Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan, the company plans to continue making titles for its PlayStation 4 console until 2025.
Per the presentation, the PS4 remains “a key driver of PS Store revenue,” accounting for 65% of the store’s sales in FY2021. The remaining sales are attributed to the PS5. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the PS4 experienced a “strong digital shift” during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. When the system launched in FY2013, only 20% of spending on the console came in the form of digital sales, while disc sales made up 80%. Now, those numbers are reversed, with 80% of spending coming from the digital realm.
The PS4 also continues to outperform the PS3 at the same point in its predecessor’s lifecycle. In March 2022 (the second year of the PS5’s lifecycle), the PS4 had 84 million users. By contrast, in March 2015 (the second year of the PS4’s lifecycle), the PS3 had only 36.1 million users.
The continued strong performance of the PS4 makes sense given that Sony is currently unable to produce enough PS5 consoles to meet demand. In fact, plans detailed in the presentation show heavy involvement of the company’s last-gen console through at least 2025. After that, there are no further mentions of the PS4, leading readers to believe that the company will cease making games for the console at that point.
Shortages for the PS5 are expected to end in 2024. However, considering the unstable global market, it is possible that Sony will change its plans as circumstances demand. As long as the PS4 is bringing in such significant money, the company will likely not put such a valuable cash cow out to pasture.
