PS5 Ships 13.4 Million Units as of September 30, PS4 Ships 116.6 Million

[The_Liquid_Laser]

Dulfite said:

DonFerrari said:

Different from PS2 days and before when the launch in markets were a lot more tiered and they had less historical data, probably now they have enough that show the drop in SW sales is step even if they keep selling systems so it is pointless to cut the price and keep the tail going for years when they can put that money in accelerating the current gen and earn more profits (PS4 and PS5 profits shows that it is working much better than PS1 to PS3 eras). PS2 dominated and outsold competition like 5:1 and had 1.5B sold of SW still PS4 was having profits that possibly in every year outdone the combined years of PS2.

Exactly. And I've said it before, PS2 only sold as many HW units as it did because it had a ridiculously long life, which helped contribute to PS3 having a LOT less units sold by the end of PS3's life (amongst other reasons). But as you point out, it's about profits, and that's why PS4 is tanking now and PS5 is thriving, and it's also the main reasoning behind why I think Nintendo will cut the cord on Switch 1 in 2023 to fully embrace Switch 2. All about profits, which you achieve on newer systems with excited fanbases willing to pay full price for new games, full price for consoles, and full price for accessories.

Software sales will be a joke in 2023 for Switch 1 compared to what Switch 2 could do, just like they are a joke right now for PS4 compared to what PS5 is doing.

Long life the 6 year cycle!

Systems have the highest profit margins when they are old.  Hardware manufacturing costs are low, and software sales often continue to be strong for 1-2 years after hardware sales have dropped significantly.  The hit games are already made, so development costs are already spent.  At that point it's almost pure profit.

On the other hand Sony especially has always had a business model where they take a loss early on, because they know they'll make better profits later.