Speaking during an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Hiroki Totoki, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, briefly touched on the company’s next-generation console, PS6, stating it hasn’t yet decided on a release date for the new machine.
The majority of the article examines the console maker’s shift from manufacturing TVs, Walkman, and Discman over the years to focussing on video games and movies, but does touch base on Sony’s plans for a new generation of hardware. In response to the global component shortage, Totoki-san offered, “Considering that importance, we need to take some action. Otherwise, we cannot survive in this landscape.”
The WSJ then mentions that the PS6 is widely expected to launch at some point next year, but the aforementioned component shortage has resulted in Sony rethinking its strategy. “Totoki said the company still hasn’t fixed a date for PS6’s launch,” the article notes. An exact quote from the executive wasn’t provided.
This isn’t the first time that Totoki has touched base on the PS6 release window. Back in May during Sony’s then-latest financial results, he stated that the company has “not decided on at what timing we will launch the new console, or at what prices.” He also said Sony must “think carefully what we will do” in regards to the shortages of memory supply next year.
Back in July, analyst Piers Harding-Rolls stated that Sony’s announcement that will be ending production of physical game discs “almost certainly guarantees that the PS6 won’t arrive until 2028 at the earliest.” He also believes that the new console will not feature a disc drive as standard, but noted an add-on could be released “to play older PS4 and PS56 games on disc.”
[Source – Wall Street Journal via VGC]