One of the most esteemed analysts within the video-game industry has predicted that the Playstation 5 will release in 2019. Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities has been the go-to analyst for information regarding industry trends for a number of years now and is known for his bold predictions about the future of video-games.
Speaking to Gaming Bolt recently he laid bare his predictions regarding the immediate future of Sony in which he suggests that the Playstation 5 will be another half-step console iteration [like the PS4 Pro], and will correct one of the Ps4’s biggest flaws by being backwards compatible.
“I really like Shawn and I don’t think he is attempting to mislead anybody. The PlayStation 4 Pro is better [from a technical perspective] than the PS4, so I think that’s a half step towards the PlayStation 5. I think the PS5 will be another half step. So he is being honest when he said he is not doing a half step but the PlayStation 5…how much faster can it be? It will surely support 4K. Will it support 240 frames per second? Great. Will it play games that were made for the PlayStation 4 PRO? That’s the question. I think it will. So I think they will build a console that will backwards compatible with the PS4 Pro. So I think it will be perceived by the consumers to be a half step and I think Shawn is telling the truth when he says it’s will be a full fledged console.”
One of the main issues faced by both the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X is that without a 4k capable TV it was difficult to distinguish the power difference between the standard consoles and their more advanced counterparts. Pachter believes that the 4k TV market will be the main indicator of when the PS5 is most likely to be released as this will allow it’s power to be more easily realised by consumers.
“My expectation that is that it’s not coming out in 2018. That is a 2019 0r 2020 but probably 2019. Sony is probably timing it better because they are going to bring out a 4K capable device when the 4K TV market reaches 50% in the USA and 35% in the rest of the world. I think Sony has probably got the next console cycle nailed down already. I think, they already know what they got to do.”
It remains to be seen as to whether or not Michael Pachter’s comments about the future of the Playstation will come to fruition and two years in the video-game industry is enough time for a lot of things to change especially given the exponential growth of technology that has occurred within the sector throughout this console life-cycle alone.
What are your thoughts about the Playstation 5 – do you think it’ll be released as soon as 2019? Do you think it’ll resemble the same format that we’ve been used to with previous console generations? Let us know in the comments below.
