Some PlayStation 4 Consoles Are Already Being Phased Out

The PlayStation 5 has only been on the market for just under two months, but Sony is already making moves to phase out some PlayStation 4 models. As a gaming sleuth on Twitter known as Cheesemeister discovered, a Japanese retailer put up notices that five PS4 models will no longer be restocked, apparently due to a discontinuation from the manufacturer.

Cheesemeister shared a photo of a PlayStation product wall in an unnamed Japanese store with a sign mentioning specific PS4 models. According to Cheesemeister's translation of the posting, the PS4 500GB in Glacier White, the PS4 1TB in Jet Black and Glacier White, the PS4 2TB in Jet Black, and the PS4 Pro 1TB in Glacier White will not be restocked "due to the manufacturer ending production."

At the time of this writing, Sony has not mentioned a plan to phase out its PS4 models, and similar retailer notices from other regions have yet to be discovered. However, as VGS reported, the PlayStation Direct online store briefly listed on the PS4 Pro 1TB product page last month that "there are currently no plans to restock this item in the future." The message was quickly removed, but it's worth noting the $399.99 console remains out of stock.

Last-gen consoles are just about the only models that gamers can get their hands on nowadays, considering the major PS5 shortages that Sony has experienced since launch day on Nov. 12. Much like Microsoft's Xbox Series X shortages, PS5 consoles flew off the shelves just as quickly as they were stocked. Sony announced just one week after launch that the PS5 was completely sold out everywhere. Since then, the console has been incredibly hard to find, and some retailers weren't expected to receive a restock until 2021.

Microsoft already made the decision over the summer to discontinue its Xbox One X and Xbox One S All-Digital Edition in anticipation of the Series X|S launch. The standard Xbox One S is still available for now. An Xbox spokesperson told GamesIndustry.biz at the time that this was the "natural next step" in heading towards the next console generation.

While discontinuations are the natural next step in transitioning to the next generation, Microsoft and Sony are moving considerably faster in the process than they have with previous consoles. Both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 survived around 10 years before Sony and Microsoft halted production, while the PlayStation 2 was around for 12 years. PlayStation fans who may be considering a PS4 console should get their hands on one of its models while they still can, because there's no telling when Sony will officially hit the brakes on production.