Shuhei Yoshida Says Sony and Nintendo 'Should Try to Keep the Current Generation as Long as Possible' - News
by William D'Angelo , posted 5 days ago / 2,737 Views
Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida in an interview with The Verge said Sony and Nintendo should keep its current generation hardware going as long as possible before launching a successor.
However, he understands why Microsoft will launch its next-generation console, codenamed Project Helix, as the Xbox has fallen behind.
"While Sony and Nintendo have sold enough numbers of current generation hardware, because of the cost of goods they might be looking at pushing back the launch of next gen," said Yoshida.
"And I think they should try to keep the current generation as long as possible, because I think people are very happy using PS5 and Switch 2.
"People have finite budget, and it feels like PC and consoles, the components very specific to these devices have increased the price way more than all the other forms of entertainment. People who have systems like PS5, Switch 2 or good enough PCs, probably will be happy to play games on them, and not necessarily consider replacing them."
Yoshida doesn't think gamers are looking for more powerful hardware yet and developers don't appear to need the extra horsepower.
"I, for myself, I have a gaming PC for work, that I purchased five years ago, that was pretty good," hr said. "And while I was thinking to replace my gaming PC, this price hike happened, so I was late to replace it. I wish I had made that decision a year ago. So I think that kind of thinking will happen to many people.
"I don’t think lots of people are asking for ‘more power, we need more power’. Or even developers, I don’t think developers are asking ‘we need better hardware’, or [anything] like that. So I think that means that the current generation, Sony and Nintendo, are going to do pretty well for many years to come, still."
He added, "Xbox is a team who wants to change the competing landscape, so it’s going to be hard for them, but it’s their time to play. So it’s very exciting, you know, what’s going to happen next year."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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I'm fine with it, I just wish the current controllers didn't get stick drift every 2 years.
Switch and Switch 2 Pro controllers seem pretty sturdy.
Switch 2 is still a new system, and it’s getting a lot more day and date major releases than Switch 1 did. It’s going to serve its purpose for me for a long time to come. If Nintendo can figure out how to contain costs, they are in a good position.
100%
Playstation really went to shit when Yoshida left.
Agreed. The ram prices will eventually get better and thus console prices will then stabilize
Yep agreed. Despite shrinking sales due to price hikes, it makes even less sense to launch a new system for Sony because the prices will only be much higher. 2029/2030 next gen launch probably makes sense, definitely not next year like some people say. For Switch 2 no sooner than 2035.
10 year gens should become the norm now.
Agreed! I understand why Xbox would want to launch its next generation given the state of the Xbox Series. But even so they should probably wait until 2028. Even if they copy Nintendo and release it in March or June 2028 rather than the usual November.
I don't play Nintendo hardware for the specs, but we better get Switch 2 Pro if takes 10 years for Switch 2 to be replaced.
Series S and below specs are going to be so outdated for a current device in 2034-2035.
Lord knows Switch was getting super outdated in specs by 2024.
Pretty much
He's right. We need to keep this going as long as we can or the console market could crash.
Game recognizes game. Nintendo edged us for like 8 years with the Switch 1, when they should have moved on sooner. They're pros at this.
100% im happy with the performance of this generation
That's ok if Sony and Nintendo doesn't keep this generation going for as long as possible, because I will.
My mind's all set to take a pause on next gen and just work on my backlog.
More accurate to say current consoles because generations are a flawed and increasingly confusing term. Switch 2 is less than a year and a half old. PS5 and Series X/S are almost 6 years old.
PS6 will probably launch in 2028-2030.
Switch 3 will probably launch in 2032-2034.
Helix will probably launch in 2028.
Before all the memory crisis and tariffs, PS6 was probably targeting 2027 and Helix was targeting as early as 2026 but maybe 2027.
"I have a gaming PC for work"
...What? A gaming PC for work, in his position?
But PC won’t wait, PC will keep iterating every single year. That’s why I’m worried about Home Console in general as a business model.
It has slowed down a lot though. Some of the tech takes about three years to see a notable improvement.
Consumer hardware isn’t prioritised as much as it used to be and the improvements have become harder to extract.
The returns there are diminishing as well, and prices are rising. Even the Steam Deck starts at $800.
I guess you mean Home Consoles, right? If yes, I agree. And that makes Gaming Console not as good a business as before. The fundamental problem is: PC as a game distribution channel, is becoming more and more efficient than Gaming Consoles.
Just my opinion.
