Pachter says 2019 PlayStation 5 release would be perfectly timed

Games industry analyst Michael Pachter has predicted that Sony will not release the PS5 until 2019 or 2020 – and is right to do so.

Speaking to GamingBolt, Pachter argued that this timing makes more sense than Microsoft’s decision to release the 4K-centric Xbox One X later this year, as by 2019/2020 the 4K market will be in a better place.

My expectation that is that [PS5 is] not coming out in 2018. That is a 2019 or 2020 but probably 2019,” he said. Sony is probably timing it better because they are going to bring out a 4K capable device when the 4K TV market reaches 50 per cent in the USA and 35 per cent in the rest of the world.

I think Sony has probably got the next console cycle nailed down already. I think, they already know what they got to do.”

Pachter also predicted that the PS5 will be another partial upgrade along the likes of the PS4 Pro, and will be compatible with existing software.

The PS4 Pro is better [from a technical perspective] than the PS4, so I think that’s a half step towards the PS5. I think the PS5 will be another half step,” he added. How much faster can it be? It will surely support 4K. Will it support 240 frames per second? Great. Will it play games that were made for the PlayStation 4 Pro? That’s the question. I think it will.”

4K TV owners already have the PS4 Pro or Xbox One S to choose from. The Xbox One X, which arrives later this year, will offer an even greater variety of native 4K content, as opposed to current machines which mostly rely on upscaling techniques.