PlayStation 5 Life Cycle Might Reach Only Five Years

The PlayStation 5 hasn’t even arrived in stores yet, but some are already predicting how long the console’s lifespan will be.

Traditionally, Sony has launched consoles six or seven years apart from each other, allowing each to maximize their life cycles before a new one arrives. The first PlayStation was launched in 1994, the PlayStation 2 in 2000, 2006 marked the arrival of the PlayStation 3, while the PlayStation 4 debuted in 2013.

The PlayStation 5 is set to launch during this year’s holiday season.

However, sources of Sony’s backend supply chain in Taiwan claim that the life cycle of the PS5 could be reduced to as low as five years. In that time period, they estimate shipments of the console to reach between 120 million to 170 million units reports Video Games Chronicle.

That estimate is roughly double that of what Microsoft’s own Xbox Series X is projected to produce. Like the PS5, the Xbox Series X is scheduled to launch this year and is projected to be Sony’s biggest adversary in this generation of the console wars.

That report backs up a recent claim that Sony has already doubled its PlayStation 5 shipment estimate for 2020 from 5 to 10 million units.

This past May, Sony said that the PS4 has already shipped 110 million units in seven years. During the current generation, Sony and Microsoft also launched more powerful versions of PS4 and Xbox One mid-cycle, in the form of PS4 Pro in 2016 and Xbox One X in 2017.

There are two PlayStation 5 models that will be arriving during the 2020 holiday season. One will have an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive. The other, however, will not have the disc drive, likely for a lower price point notes Video Games Chronicle. That PS5 Digital Edition could cost $50 less than the disc version according to some recent analysis.

Recently, Sony shot down any rumors that it was already set to open pre-orders for the PlayStation 5. Instead, the company has been telling players and prospective buyers that it will provide advance notice when it is indeed ready for pre-orders for the console.