
In a wide-ranging interview with Japanese gaming bible Famitsu, Sony’s senior vice president of platform experience Hideaki Nishino hinted that 2023 will be “very important” for PS5. “I can’t talk about specifics at this time,” he said, via Google Translate, “but I hope you will look forward to next year.”
Nishino was asked about PS5’s stock problems, where he alluded to the aftermath of the console’s launch being more challenging than the lead-up to it. He pointed to lockdowns in cities like Shanghai as a huge headache for the firm, which has struggled to meet demand worldwide. He said that the situation was improving, however, and it aims to sell-through 37 million units by the end of March.
He then added that he believes next year will be “very important” for the platform, and pointed to the software schedule, which includes many key releases like Resident Evil 4 and Final Fantasy 16. He also addressed the idea that Sony has abandoned the Japanese market, and revealed it makes him “very sad” that people think that – but he said he accepts the opinion of fans, and is focused on changing that mind-set.
It’s now strongly rumoured that a revised PS5 hardware model will launch in 2023 with a detachable disc drive. This is allegedly already in the hands of some developers, and is said to work “flawlessly”. The innovative new hardware design will allow Sony to streamline its manufacturing process, effectively enabling it to ship more units, while also providing customers with more flexibility.
[source famitsu.com]
Comments 53
We could do with a show from Sony early next year.
I'm just worried that they are worried about optics for the Activision deal and don't want to crow about the great stuff they have coming....
Hopefully they'll release a slim or smaller model next year.
N.i.c.e. sony is definitely gonna do big things.word up son
Very important in that PSVR2 releases, and they should get a decision on whether MS will be allowed, in theory, to buy and hold all the most popular games.
Oh, and if he wants to convince people they haven’t abandoned Japan, stop imposing western standards on their games. And their control schemes for that matter.
Looking forward to it, let's hope we get that show early doors
Well I hope he means they'll have more than just Spiderman releasing next year.
2023 is looking to be really good with PS5 exclusives like Stellar Blade, FFXVI and Spider-Man 2, as well as third party releases like Persona 4 Golden and Like A Dragon Ishin. Just need more first party announcements
The eyecatch here is that rumoured new PS5 model with a new devkit.
If it was just a new hardware revision there would be no need for a new devkit, maybe they are cooking something extra with that new PS5.
I'm so jaded at this point that I'll believe it when I see it.
Ps5 pro would be nice.
Forspoken
PSVR2
slim model with separate disc drive
spiderman 2
maybe one of their Games as a service games launches factions 2 maybe?
Stock wise we not doing to bad in the UK this week and now, good few GOWR bundles in shops to take away as well and some solo consoles.
And of course online, easy to pick one up at the minute.
Depend where you live 10 Solo disc PS5 £480 and my local Smyths Toys if anyone after one.
Another announcement of nothing.
Removed - spam; user is banned
In tough economic times like this, are PS5 slims or pros really going to fly out the door? I've seen people say they'd trade their current model for a slim, unless it comes with really fancy new upgrades I wouldn't bother considering "upgrading".
@The_Moose i dont think there will be anything like pro yet, especially as still alot cross gen stuff, no need for one yet.
@stvevan I'd like to think that as well but I just have a feeling they're going to overestimate people's want for a new console, even if they already own the model they're releasing.
WipeOut - that is all
@Titntin
Was thinking are Microsoft doing the same with Xbox being quiet about the supposed big 3 AAA before June 2023 because of the Activision deal or are they just the usual rubbish Microsoft with Xbox since the release of the series consoles?
So he's sad that people think they've abandoned Japanese games/culture.
Well do something about it!
Also, bring on PSVR2.
Must be tough being the guy tasked with convincing Japan that a company that focuses all it's marketing in the West, focuses its content on the West, censors Japanese media based on Western values, underships to Japan, and closed it's primary Japanese development group hasn't abandoned Japan..... Poor guy may want to take a trip to Kyoto and ask around about platform holders that are interested in Japan. He may be able to hop a train with a yellow mouse on it to get there.
@The_Moose I think PS5 demand hasn't really slowed down so much so far, and consoles were "recession-proof" last recession in 08, so they're probably banking on that. But I agree, discretionary spend has already fallen off a cliff in general, and I think in 2023 that's going to get a whole lot worse across the board.
@Dezzy70 You have officially exceeded my record line count. I'm impressed!
I think MS already said they were holding back to not give regulators any ammunition. I'm certain they're both doing so. Both of their arguments incorporate arguing that their business makes no money, they're disadvantaged, and have no incentives for anyone to purchase their product. I've never seen two companies spend so much money trying to convince everyone their product is terrible and nobody should buy it.
@CielloArc I wouldn't think so. Throwing all the existing PS5 buyers under the bus by obsoleting their console before the gen's major releases even start could easily backfire as a Sega 32x moment. I'm sure it's the "same" PS5 in a cheaper to make form factor.
If I were to guess, "Cernydrive" has been removed entirely (which I predicted would happen back during launch whenever the Slim was released) and replaced with a bog standard SSD. The whole point of the "special" storage unit was because they wanted to race to market before the Gen4 SSDs were actually going to be available, so they designed that whole overengineered thing to basically use Gen3 nand modules currently available but get closer to gen 4 speeds via custom controller. They don't actually need that anymore. Mass market gen 4 SSDs and controllers are probably much cheaper for them to buy and make now than building the esoteric custom solution, and are technically faster, and should run cooler, at slower than spec speeds, in a PS5.
They spent a lot of launch energy marketing that special custom storage, but the whole thing was never more than a workaround to get higher performance from bulk available nand before the actual upcoming storage tech was widely available. They could almost certainly save on production costs, availability, size, and thermals just replacing the custom storage with a normal purchased SSD. But a new dev kit would make sense to ensure that doesn't introduce unexpected problems.
I would say 2023 is kind of important for current-gen (or next-gen if you want to still refer to it) as we’ve been living in cross-gen shadow ever since these new consoles dropped.
It’s time to ditch PS4/X1 for the majority of games.
Show us why we need these consoles in 2023! Show us why $70 needs to be new price (and not just simply because it’s the PS5/Series version with graphical upgrades).
@NEStalgia
Being fair to you I can’t take that honour
As it was a list of PS5 stock 😂
Yes we definitely in funny times at the moment with Microsoft and Sony.
But Xbox should just get on, showcase their games and release dates and stop pissing us gamers off and acting like arses 😱🎄🎄🎄
Sony teases are the best. They usually always deliver something great and this will be no exception. My view for a great 2023 would be making more retro Playstation games available and giving us custom backgrounds.
@NEStalgia can't take anything you say now seriously because of your massive judgment error. It's impossible for them to replace the current M.2 SSD with a standard one as the games released so far have beem specificaly made for that exact spec. Will bring major problems if the games don't receive patches to expect a much slower SSD. Seems you are passive aggresive to Sony and some of us can smell it.
Do they mean the new ps5 model that everyone already nos about
@Sil_Am ?? 🤔
You can install a standard gen4 SSD and run games from it right now.... It has a bay explicitly for doing so. It doesn't need to use the custom storage. It shipped with that solution for the same reasons the expansion Bay was disabled at launch: stock gen4 drives were not available yet. The gen4 drive is faster than the custom storage built with available at the time modules. There's nothing passive aggressive about that. That's how the storage works on the PS5 we already have!
@The_Moose I wouldn't trade my PS5 for a slim, but I would totally trade it for a Pro if the price was right.
I think 2023 is way too early for a Pro version and a slim makes a lot more sense - but if I'm wrong, I'll probably upgrade, depending on the details (price, specs, features). My two kids who also have PS5s - I doubt they'd upgrade.
@NEStalgia Your thoughts on Sony switching to a more standard Gen4 SSD sure makes a lot of sense, though a lot depends on wholesale pricing of components, so I can't guess how accurate you may be. If you're right, so long as they still have the second storage bay for expansion I'll be happy. I'll be less thrilled if they say the m2 slot is now the only storage, and they're shipping with a choice of a 500GB or 1TB stick, and you have to swap it if you want to add more. That would suck.
The m2 slot is one of the serious wins for Sony this generation. The price of 2TB sticks dropping down to match what XBox's smaller/slower 1TB custom expansion sells for is fun to watch.
When Sony claims something like that, you better believe it's true. Meanwhile, when Microsoft do, you know they're lying.
Going into 2023 after the fact we didn't get a showcase in all this current year just makes a 2023 showcase even more sexier and juicier. We know what's scheduled for 2023 but it's all the new unannounced surprise reveals for 2023, 2024 and 2025 that gets me excited
What a load of…
I very much hope for the modular PS5 to be released next year.
Well, some games that justify the console's existence will be a good start.
As we have seen in the last few years... Important to Sony doesn't necessarily mean good for the gamer or gaming.
Likely means for them, a year they are hoping to cash in on the already come and gone window for the now oversaturated and polarizing live service scheme.
As far as we know that's all that is on near horizon from Sony studios aside from another iterative comic book game, and Sonys second niche vr headset with underwhelming games.
Maybe another console price increase after they release that modular one? If you think a showcase is coming mapping out some glorious future, they have already dripfed exactly what that is via action and boardroom promises:
-Remaster cash grabs
-Live service games
-Forcing their Studios to iterate on Safe iterative bleeding of current IPs until the monotony sets in.
I hope for more, but Sony hasn't really been gamer centric for some time, thus expectations are at an all time low. 3rd party stuff on the horizon is what we have to really look forward to in 2023. Unless assassins creed spider man edition is really something you are that hyped about.
@RobN I'm very curious to see if I'm right on that. I predicted it on some thread here back when the consoles were pre launch, so if it verifies, I'm officially more accurate than most of the Twitter "insiders" quoted in gaming news!
That's a good question about if they'd just install it in the expansion Bay so you lose that storage to upgrade. I could see something like that for cost cutting, and that would be the same as PC's.... But otoh, I'd assume the bare modules to solder onto the main board are cheaper at wholesale by a decent margin. No enclosure, no heatsink (still I prolific system sink to cover it all), and installing them along with the whole board assembly is probably faster, cheaper, and less prone to qc issues, so it probably would still be an internal drive soldered down plus the empty bay. They would get to cut the fabrication of the custom controller. That frees up a whole production line bottleneck. I could see the console upgraded stock to 1tb at least even if they're not upgrading to 1.5 as a new base model simply because that's the base available module to buy.
Removed - flaming/arguing
@Titntin FTC and other regulators have back door access to all records, public and private for all parties involved in the ABK acquisition.
This includes Sony. Sony doesn't have to hide anything from the public. Odds are they will wait till they are nearly ready to release projects to announce them. Same with the console. It makes no sense for Sony to announce it now, people would stop buying their current versions. They'll announce it a few weeks before they release the new console.
@CielloArc Maybe special kits for older consoles. nah just joking. I know what it is the Legend of Dragoon remake or part 2 that would be mind blowing for me.
Exciting times ahead then in the Sony camp
@Titntin im very excited for a slim model, i only buy digital so i won’t need the disc drive, but i have been vocal about my dislike of this design and i know sony can make some great console designs, so i am excited, but i must say one thing towards all that say the ABK deal is holding back games and announcements and while there probably is some truth to that, i think it don’t make sense, cause those games would be games that have been in development from studios they have owned for years and years. Hardly seems right to punish a company for what they already have. I know it’s not as simple as that and personally i think the ABK deal should go through, does it upset some folks? Sure, but business is business and this doesn’t hurt the industry like so many are trying to say it does, it’s really about people in high places getting smaller bonuses if the money shifts the way they anticipate it could. I think Sony and MS both will have to start letting their 2023 plans come out soon and let the ABK deal do what it’s going to do without trying to hide around. The courts see the numbers, there’s no hiding from it in my opinion.
@NomNom Im pretty sure you are right. I would argue it could be to court public opinion, but thats pretty weak and Sony dont seem to care much about that 😂
@Green-Bandit Im sure your right too, it wouldnt make a lot of sense to hold back, my earlier comment was slightly throw away 👍
time will tell of course and what Sony considers 'big' or 'important' for them in 2023 may not necessarily be 'big' for all their customers.
PSVR2 is expected in 2023 - with its own Software - and will be one area that Sony has complete dominance over in the Console space - the ONLY console to offer VR gaming. Whether that's 'very important' or not, will depend on whether it appeals, whether or not it sells well etc.
Spider-Man 2 is expected towards the end of 2023 but apart from Wolverine, I can't think of any other typical Sony first party Single Player projects announced. Maybe they have some 'big' announcements to share but other than 3rd Party developed games (inc some Exclusives like Forspoken), I would be surprised if they had something to 'release' we don't know about.
The exception to that is 'Live Service' games. Last of Us 'Factions', Horizon Multi-player and whatever else they were supposedly have in the works. Sony have said they had many 'Live Service' games in the works and could release 1 or more in 2023.
What maybe 'very important' to Sony though may not be as important to their customers. If the 'above' is their 2023, it would be 'disappointing' from my perspective as I have no interest in VR gaming and little/no interest in Live Service either so if the 'Only' first party exclusive game I'm interested in is Spider-Man 2, its not a 'great' year for PS5 for me...
As I said, Time will Tell and by this time 'next' year, we will know if its been a great year for PS5 owners...
@BAMozzy this is exactly the line of thinking I'm in regarding Sony future plans. If it does turn out o merely be vr, live service, and Spiderman it woukd be a very disappointing trajectory of plans and definitely not something big to me.
Looking forward to a handful of 3rd party titles though.
@__jamiie I think there is a misconception from outside Japan and people covering games from inside have picked up on it.
I was in the biggest electronics place in Osaka yesterday and their Switch and PS areas were jammed packed. Every demo being played, long line ups at counters for various things. Lots of people with PS5 controllers and headsets and such.
On the contrary - MS and Phil have been stated how they are putting more into the market. Media is reporting this is their best console year in Japan. XB had nothing but a 5’x7’ display. With signs saying Series X wasn’t available, and a single shelf of games. Downstairs in the PC gaming areas sat a SX and a SS demo not being played and just a simple rack of GamePass cards. That’s it. Crickets.
Can the Slim model have a disc drive that reads CDs and enable full emulation of PS1/2/3 without whitelisting individual titles please.
@ReadySlayerOne I didn't mention Xbox once so the fact you've decided to bring them into the mix is weird.
I would say that a lot of diehard PlayStation fans genuinely feel that Sony have drastically moved away from their Japanese roots. Many people here have commented the same. Nintendo own Japan right now. A lot of the typical Japanese style games are either exclusive to Switch or launch with it as the lead platform. The fact that the Switch outsold the PS4 in the country in something like 18 months says it all.
I'm pleased you got to see people in Japan playing PlayStation, but I'm still confused as to why you brought Xbox into the conversation.
@__jamiie I brought up XBox to compare with the impression of what the media has been reporting about Xbox in Japan. What people abroad surmise may not reflect actuality. As per his response.
@ReadySlayerOne Then maybe just write your own post rather than tagging onto mine and talking about nothing I mentioned.
@__jamiie They don’t have to do anything about it. Spelled it nice and big for you, lol.
I suspect Sony will use the Slim to raise prices.
Base 2023 digital unit could be as much as $499.
With external drive and new plates fetching $150.
Or you could buy a bundle with everything for $599.
They may show the smaller system first & talk prices later
Maybe they'll increase system storage to 1TB, if we're lucky.
I doubt we'd see a Pro till 2024, call it the PS5 60FPS Edition.
Still waiting to see what the revised version looks like and how much it costs. Should hopefully be cheaper but more importantly, a fair bit smaller in most dimensions (primarily height!)
Replacing the custom SSD with the mass market gen4 SSDs would be a sensible move but whether the customers would see the price cut or it'd go into corporate Sony's pockets is a different matter.
As a PS4 Pro with SSD owner, I'm hoping for some decent PS5 exclusives to showcase the new hardware because, at the moment, I'm not seeing it.
I'll be more than happy in 2023 even if Spider-Man 2 ends up being the only Sony Worldwide Studios release, not counting the Horizon Forbidden West DLC.
We have so many great PS5 console exclusives (timed) and third party titles to keep us entertained all year long.
@Beerheadgamer82 @IAmAshCohen17 @Titntin Fingers crossed we get two showcases in 2023, like we did in 2020.
One in Spring 2023 (February- April), and then another in Fall 2023 (September?).
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...