There are certain “untold aspects” of the gaming space that gamers don’t think about or don’t realize they’re acting upon until they’re specifically told about them. A great example of this is when a new console arrives. The “instinct” is to think that everyone just rushes to that new console and then leaves the older one behind, but that’s not exactly the case. After all, all new systems have a lull in building up a gaming roster that will keep people engaged for a long time, and thus, systems like the PS4 maintain a good player base while systems like the PS5 are still growing.
But you don’t have to take our word for it; you only need to listen to Sony. Hideaki Nishino, who is the head of SIE’s Platform Business Group, dropped various stats about the state of PlayStation systems, and one of the things he noted was that while the PS5 continues to grow and has nearly reached 60 million units sold at last measurement, the PlayStation 4 has actually maintained 50% of the active player user base:
“As you can see, the PlayStation 5 userbase has continued to grow significantly, driving to half of our monthly active consoles,” Nishino said at the event, which was covered by VGC. “While the PlayStation 4 is still an important part of our business, our PlayStation 5 players are even more engaged than in our previous generation, and we expect these trends to continue.”
Sony also claimed that the PS5 is its “most profitable generation,” with players spending more on things on the new console than they did on PS4.
However, there’s a catch with that. As they noted themselves, this doesn’t mean they’re spending money on new games. In fact, while the playtime for games is up, the spending on them is down in terms of buying brand-new titles. Instead, they’re spending money on things like DLC, new accessories and live-service content.
While that sounds positive at first, it reemphasizes why the PS4 is doing so well in its active user base of 49 million people. The PlayStation 4 already has an impressive roster of titles that people can play right now, versus the PlayStation 5, which is still trying to build up its roster. The State of Play happening today may help with that, but it’s doubtful that too many “heavy-hitters” are coming soon based on past statements from the company.
Sony seems to be happy with where they are right now, but one has to wonder if it will last.
