PS5 Will Release Early 2019 (Opinion)

[VideoGameAccountant]

ShadowSoldier said:

Nuvendil said:

Highly doubt it. The PS4 jump over the PS3 disappointed initially and wasn't fully appreciated for years. The Pro also disappointed many. Contrary to the current rhetoric, generations need to get *longer* NOT shorter.

I personally anticipate the PS5 in 2021. 2020 at the absolute earliest.   I don't think Sony is concerned with the next Xbox because Microsoft's posturing leaves considerable doubt there will even BE another Xbox after the One line.

Sony isn't going to rush out the gate to get the drop on Xbox. No sense in taking the risk.

I want to co-sign this post. With the jumps on visuals getting shorter  and shorter the time between gens should be getting longer. Performance matters more than graphical fidelity at this point. And to be honest this gen has just started to get going. I imagine we wont see PS5 until 2022 at the earliest.

I disagree. Generations are going to get shorter, not longer, thanks to a major system everyone in this thread is pretending doesn't exist: the PC.

Look at it this way. Let's say I care about graphics and performance. Should I get the PS4 Pro? Or should I get "the most powerful console ever," the XBox One X. How about, instead, I just build a PC. With a PC, I can build a system that runs 4K at 60 FPS. Sure, right now you might spend more to build this PC, but prices on parts go down quickly, and it wont be long before you can build a PC that outdoes the Pro for less than what Sony is selling the Pro for. By 2022, as you suggested, you'd get a far better PC for cheaper. In Febuary of 2017, Logical Incriments had a build for $415 that would be about as good as the PS4 Pro. They also provided a system that was better than the PS4 Pro for $550. By 2019, that $550 build could easily be cheaper than a Pro. Sure, Sony can drop the price, but if performance is a big selling point already, then why not spend a bit more and get more. Keep in mind that PCs are also cheaper to upgrade as oppose to buying a new system.

With Sony and Microsoft going the route of power and performance, they will have to compete with the PC. Even back in 2013, not every game was coming to the PC or the PC would have the worst version. Now, almost every game that isn't first party will come to the PC and the PC will be the best versions. Developers are already complaining that the consoles are holding them back. Unlike Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft don't have a strong portfolio of IPs that can draw customers in. They are highly reliant on 3rd parties to provide the software for their systems. 

Sony is at risk of having their market being absorbed by PC. By focusing on power, customers may make the jump to PC as the PC offer a better library (including previous generation games) and offers better performance. If Playstation's hook is "Our games look the best," then consumers will go to where they do look the best: PC. This is partly why the Pro exist in the first place. Sony needs to compete with PC, where better parts keep coming out older parts get cheaper, and the half-step with the Pro is how they do it. The PS5 will likely be a another half-step to complete with the PCs you can build then. Again, by the time 2022 rolls around, the PS4 Pro will be a joke in terms of performance. Sony will have to compete with the constant incrimental improvements that are seen in the PC world. The half-steps are how they do it. Expect the generations (for Sony at least) to move in tandum with PC parts. Expect the generations to be shorter.