But Nishino doesn’t give much away. Instead, he explains that the competition’s roadmap isn’t the main driving force behind Sony’s own outlook.
“When considering the overall size of the gaming console market, we believe that what matters is not competition with a specific company, but rather the presence of multiple players and healthy competition within the market,” he says.
“In addition, the development of next generation hardware requires a long lead time, and it is not feasible to align launch timing with competitors over a short period without visibility into their plans. Therefore, we do not determine our launch timing based on competitors’ movements,” he continues.
However, Nishino does admit that launch timings for new consoles do often “converge” due to production timelines and the general advancement of surrounding technologies.
He concludes: “Ultimately, decisions regarding launch timing are made based on a comprehensive assessment of factors including technological advancements, marketing considerations, regional dynamics, and pricing.”
So, while Sony was never going to announce or even tease potential release date information in an investor-facing summary, we’re now at a point where the question’s going to be asked more and more frequently.
The Japanese giant will have a timeline all laid out for the PS6, but there’s every chance that it’ll have to be more… flexible than it was in previous generations. The soaring cost of components being one of the biggest factors in all of this.
And despite Nishino’s explanations, the firm will absolutely have an eye on Microsoft’s movements.
When do you think the PS6 will release? Will it be pretty much in line with the next Xbox? Or will things be different this time around? Glance at your poor wallet in the comments section below.
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[source sony.com]
Robert (or Rob if you’re lazy) is an assistant editor of Push Square, and has been a fan of PlayStation since the 90s, when Tekken 2 introduced him to the incredible world of video games. He still takes his fighting games seriously, but RPGs are his true passion. The Witcher, Persona, Dragon Quest, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, Trails, Tales — he’s played ’em all. A little too much, some might say.