We already know that console manufacturing is being heavily impacted by the on-going component shortage, driven by the proliferation of AI datacenters, the war in Iran, and accusations of price fixing. It turns out that these factors are putting so much pressure on console manufacturers that Sony hasn’t even got a release date for the PlayStation 6 internally.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Sony CEO Hiroko Totoki revealed that multiple parts of the Sony hardware business are being affected by the on-going component crisis. The article, mostly concerned with Sony’s evolution from a company making Walkman and Discman devices into a multimedia hardware, software, and media empire, does touch on gaming – albeit briefly.
As pointed out by VGC, the article outlines that a number of analysts expected the PS6 to arrive in 2027, but it seems even Sony doesn’t actually know when the console will arrive yet. “Totoki said the company still hasn’t fixed a date for PS6’s launch,” summarised the Wall Street Journal. This isn’t really surprising: Totoki gave a similar update in May
Safe to say, then, we’re probably going to wait a while for Sony’s next console. A console, no doubt, that will ship without support for discs and go all-in on Sony’s controversial ‘all-digital future’. Despite plenty of consumer outcry, the company has remained bullish in its commitment to scrapping discs by 2028 (the earliest, at this point, we’re realistically going to see the PS6 on the market). It’s also likely that Sony is going to push harder into subscriptions and cross-generational games.