Andrew House, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), has said that the console maker expects the PlayStation 3’s life-cycle to last "a minimum” of ten years.
The executive’s comments come in light of global PS3 sales reaching the 50 million barrier, though House was quick to point out that this is "just the start" of a healthy shelf life for Sony’s flagship console.
"I’ve always said [PS3’s life-cycle will be] ten-plus years and the only question mark is how long the ‘plus’ is," he told CVG, before adding that "ten years I think is the minimum."
"What we’ve said many times before and we’re confident about is we launched a device that is very, very powerful, that has a whole range of possibilities and that’s at the very least a ten-year life-cycle. I know I’m guilty of repeating myself but I think it’s always worth pointing out we’re still selling PlayStation 2 in its millions around the world, 11 years after it was launched.”
"That’s different markets and a different profile of consumers but there’s still some vibrant demand. That for me bodes extremely well for where the potential of PS3 will go."
Quizzed on whether he thought the time was ripe for Microsoft to unveil the successor to the Xbox 360 at E3 next year – which according to rumors this week is exactly what they’re planning to do – House replied: "I think that’s a question for Microsoft to address rather than us."
"We’ve announced that we’ve hit a significant milestone with 50 million units sold worldwide, but I really do believe that that’s just the start,” he added.