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PlayStation head honcho John Kodera has said that the PlayStation 4 is approaching the final phase of its lifecycle.
Speaking during the format holder's Corporate Strategy Meeting (via Wall Street Journal's Takashi Mochizuki on Twitter), Kodera noted that while this may negatively impact the fortunes of its games division, revenue from the likes of PlayStation Plus subscriptions will help offset any major decline.
PS4 is almost five-years-old, having first launched back in November 2013. The last hardware generation ran for seven years, significantly longer than any previous cycle.
PS chief Kodera: PS4 is entering final phase of its life cycle, which would have negative impact to the unit, but recurring revenue via membership services etc should cushion some of that.
— Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj) May 22, 2018
However, Kodera's statement by no means indicates PS4 is on the way out. The final phase of a lifecycle could last a good couple of years at least; Kodera noted that there are still more exclusive titles for PS4 in the pipeline in addition to those already announced.
Interestingly, the executive also told analysts and investors that from now until March 2021 will be a time where PlayStation would 'crouch down once' in order to grow taller in the future.
Is that fancy speak for the inevitable arrival of PS5? Who knows at this point.
Elsewhere, Kodera said that PlayStation VR is growing, albeit not at the rate that was originally projected. PlayStation Vue also seems to be having a bit of a rough ride due to some stiff competition.
Sony announced last month that PS4 has shipped 79 million units worldwide.
