PS5 Still Three Years Off, Says PlayStation Boss

If you thought Sony's announcement Tuesday that the PS4 had entered the end of its lifecycle meant a new console was coming soon, you may have a longer wait than expected. Sony's head of PlayStation, John Kodera, has said the company will take the next three years to further develop the fifth-generation PlayStation console, reports The Wall Street Journal. "We will use the next three years to prepare the next step, to crouch down so that we can jump higher in the future," said Kodera.

The announcement means the company is looking at a slower update cycle than usual; the next generation of PlayStation consoles usually come 6-7 years after the current one is released. The PS4 was released in 2013, and since then it has sold more than 79 million units.

On Tuesday, Sony's new CEO, Kenichiro Yoshida, released a three-year business plan for the company. He is forecasting that profits will dip slightly towards 2021, slightly below the $1.6 billion it made this past fiscal year. The Wall Street Journal interviewed Kodera then, and reports him saying the end of the PS4 would have only a minor effect on the company, as it has been moving PlayStation's focus from hardware to online subscription services. Its goal is to add revenue sources that are more stable than volatile hardware and software sales. Follow our full coverage to read more about Sony's three-year plan and how it affects PlayStation.

Given the long wait until the "PS5" is released, it's unlikely we'll hear much about it for some time. We already know Sony won't be talking about new hardware at E3 2018. Instead, the company will focus on four big games during the event.