The PlayStation 5 Slim seems to be selling well compared to the original model, but it seems like it is still not enough to outperform the PlayStation 4, according to a new report.
As reported by GamesIndustry Japan, securities firm Toyo Securities held a seminar on December 27th to discuss PS5 sales. According to the firm, Sony will sell around 18.5 million units in 2024, missing its target of 25 million units. While it was previously assumed the console was not selling enough due to manufacturing issues, the reality seems to be different, as while the PlayStation 5 Slim is selling well, its sales are not enough to outperform the PS4's sales in a similar timeframe. Still, it is doing well, and it's likely SIE interim president Hiroki Totokoi will highlight them in the company's next financial results.
While sales not hitting their targets, even with the success of the PlayStation 5 Slim, is not a major issue now, it may be a much bigger issue in the next console generation, which isn't all that far off now. According to GamesIndustry Japan, conversations with third parties revealed how difficult it is to recover the current huge development costs with an install base of 100 million units, as even porting titles to Xbox consoles and PC doesn't help all that much. In their report, Toyo Securities highlights this issue as well, saying that this will become even more of a problem in the next generation of consoles, suggesting that Sony should stop seeking increased performance, which leads to increased development costs, and release a smaller system with bigger mass market appeal.
As the massive Insomniac Games leak last month revealed, development costs are going out of control for AAA games and are hardly sustainable. With SIE's leadership change, it will be interesting to see what the company will do to change the situation and how it will impact the gaming industry as a whole.
For now, 2024 is looking to be a great year for Sony and gaming, thanks to highly anticipated games such as Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Rise of the Ronin, and Silent Hill 2 remake, which are sure to boost the PlayStation 5 Slim sales further in the coming weeks.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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