Sony Reveals A Sad Reality For The PS4

After fans grew confused about the rollout of the new tiered version of PlayStation Plus, it looks like PlayStation owners are in for even more bad news — especially for those who haven't yet upgraded to Sony's PlayStation 5. During Sony's most recent investor presentation, the PlayStation maker estimated that the PlayStation 4 could stop seeing new title releases as soon as 2025. It's not great news for those who've either held off pulling the trigger on Sony's newest hardware because of scarcity or the absurd scalper and reseller market, indirectly pushing players towards a new PlayStation 5.

The news likely hits home for those who'd vocally condemned Sony after the company announced it would be shutting down the digital storefronts on PlayStation 3 and PS Vita back in 2021, but thankfully the unpopular decision was reversed after player outcry. Now, instead of stopping players from purchasing the games they want on the hardware they want, Sony's simply making the future of PlayStation 4 less and less attractive. While every player won't go out and purchase a PlayStation 5 when they realize some of the titles they'd been looking forward to won't have a home on last generation's console, some will likely feel pressured to keep pace with an industry that just keeps chugging along — sometimes even faster than we'd like.

In Sony's investor presentation, the company outlines its past releases across platforms and includes projections up to 2025. Sony included a handy graph that identifies how much content is releasing across the various gaming platforms Sony has a stake in (PC, mobile and Sony-made consoles). Interestingly, while the PlayStation 4 can be seen dominating Sony's releases in 2019 — with about 90% of content released for Sony's former top-of-the-line console — it's completely AWOL in release estimates for in FY2025.

Of course, this had to happen eventually. No video game console lives forever, and many publishers, game developers and those involved in the industry will consider which consoles players are most likely to pick up a game on before deciding release platforms. In Sony's case — for first-party titles that've historically carried the brand — the PlayStation maker has a little more freedom, but ultimately it seems that the well of goodwill might run dry in about three years time. 

Whether this is tied to the difference in power between the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 remains to be seen, but considering how tumultuous it's been just to get hands on a PlayStation 5, the news is causing plenty of grief for those still playing on a PlayStation 4. One user commenting via Twitter said, "The crazy part is ..them pretending that we can just buy a ps5...average consumer aint paying somebody 700-1200 2nd hand from a scalper..."