What does Sony selling more PS4 units mean for future games?
The gaming industry might have benefited from the COVID-19 lockdowns, but it has also hurt the industry. Case in point, the semiconductor shortage. The growing demand for devices using semiconductors coupled with the pandemic meant that several industries relying on these pieces had to adjust. In Sony’s case, first-party exclusives that were supposed to launch only on the PS5 are now launching on the PS4 as well, including Gran Turismo 7 and God of War: Ragnarok. Since the situation isn’t getting better anytime soon, Sony’s pivot to keep the production going for 2022 makes sense, even if it’s a bit disappointing. According to Bloomberg, insiders with intimate knowledge of the situation claim that Sony will manufacture around 1 million PS4 units to help address the issues with the PS5’s availability. In an ideal world, Sony would have slowly started producing fewer PS4 units by now. Despite the ongoing shortage, the PS5 still managed to outpace every single one of Sony’s previous consoles. By September 2021, the PS5 had nearly doubled the PS4’s numbers during their first year of launch (13.3 million vs 7.6 million). As noted by Bloomberg, the PS4 uses older chips. This means that Sony can still keep on producing the PS5 based on the availability of the newer semiconductor chips. However, we’re hoping that Sony will implement further price cuts for the PS4 as the older console is now easier and cheaper for them to manufacture. Barring a lower PS4 price, the silver lining here is that we might see more exclusives head to the PS4 as well. At least, until 2023 or maybe even 2024. At the same time, this is a double-edged sword. The PS4 screenshots of Horizon Forbidden West prove that upcoming games still look good on the older console. But, we cannot deny that forcing developers to worry about making a game working on both the PS4 and PS5 takes up valuable resources. Unfortunately, there’s no clear end to the chip crisis. Even Intel’s CEO thinks that the situation will not improve until 2023. In other news, reports suggest that Sony intends to hold a State of Play event in early February and late March. Sony has neither confirmed nor denied these reports. But, with Sifu and Forbidden West both launching in the same month, there is a high likelihood that it’s only a matter of time before Sony announces its next showcase.
