Sony is not concerned about the potential for Xbox to leave the console business and remains confident in its PlayStation strategy, a senior company official has said. However, the Japanese gaming giant remains aware of broader industry shifts, affecting both Xbox and other rivals, which it says are worth keeping an eye on.
Microsoft has been insisting that Xbox lost the console wars since 2023, when it articulated this position as part of the argument for why the then-pending Activision Blizzard acquisition should be allowed to go through. Between this stance and the continued decline in Xbox hardware sales, some industry watchers have lately been speculating that Microsoft might pull the plug on its console business altogether in the near future.
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During a recent “fireside chat,” Sony Corporation of America SVP Justin Hill raised the topic of speculation around Microsoft potentially exiting the console business, asking how such a move might reflect on PlayStation. SIE President and CEO Hideaki Nishino responded by first offering a general view: the company considers a certain level of market rivalry beneficial. “We think that competition in the business is healthy and pushes us to innovate,” he explained, as picked up by Pure Xbox.
Xbox or No, Sony Remains Convinced in Its PlayStation Strategy
At the same time, Nishino noted that PlayStation’s competition extends beyond Xbox. “There are multiple participants who together drive the overall gaming industry,” he said. The CEO acknowledged that some “new engagement models are [currently] being explored”—ostensibly referring to trends such as cloud gaming and multi-platform publishing, both of which Sony is also experimenting with. Nevertheless, he emphasized that Sony remains “confident” in its current PlayStation strategy and sees no “urgent need” to pivot regardless of what Xbox may or may not do in the foreseeable future.
We think that competition in the business is healthy and pushes us to innovate.
According to recent insider reports, at least one more generation of Xbox consoles is planned regardless of current market conditions. However, amid declining hardware sales, Microsoft is said to be aiming to blur the line between consoles and PCs with its next-generation device. Long-time Microsoft insider Jez Corden recently described the successor to the Xbox Series X/S as essentially a PC housed in a TV-friendly shell, claiming it will share an SDK with PC, enabling developers to support it with minimal additional effort.
Unredacted documents released during Microsoft’s legal proceedings with the FTC over the Activision Blizzard acquisition revealed that the company previously anticipated launching its next console generation in 2028. However, with Sony reportedly planning a late 2025 tapeout for its system-on-chip code-named “A0″—believed to be the chipset for the PS6—it’s possible the next console generation could arrive as early as late 2027.
- Brand
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Sony PlayStation
- Original Release Date
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November 7, 2024
- Original MSRP (USD)
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$699.99
- Processor
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AMD Ryzen Zen 2 (8 cores, 16 threads, 3.5GHz)
- Resolution
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Up to 8K
- HDR Support
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Yes