Sony will not release new hardware in an effort to counter Microsoft’s impending Xbox Scorpio, Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter has said.

Speaking during the latest episode of Pachter Factor, the ubiquitous industry analyst said that there’s no need to respond to the Scorpio from Sony’s point of view, as the company already has the PS4 Pro out and that Scorpio is essentially to Xbox One what PS4 Pro is to the original system.

However, he did seem confident that the PS5 will be released at some point in the not-too-distant future; Sony’s PS4 successor is likely to show up in 2019 or 2020, and we’ll also get another Xbox console around the same time.

“I don’t [see that happening],” commented Pachter. “I think Scorpio will have same rules as PS4 Pro- every game made for PS4 Pro has to be fully compatible with PS4. Similarly, every game on Scorpio will have to be backward compatible on Xbox One. So what I think that means is that games will have to run at, say, 1080p and 60fps, but can be upgraded to 4k and 240fps or whatever it will be. But the game will have both on the disc, the hardware will know what file to play, so the Xbox One or PS4 looks for the standard file, while the Pro or Scorpio will pick up the better, faster content. I think that’s what you’ll see, I don’t think that’s a problem, and I think that very few games will support Xbox One Scorpio at launch- the games that support PS4 Pro will definitely support Scorpio, and they may not even run at 4K.”

“So games will run better, but they will be backward compatible- Microsoft is not replacing the Xbox One- they are upgrading it. So no, Sony will not come up with more hardware in 2018. You may get a PS5 in 2019 or maybe 2020, and an Xbox Two in 2020, and we will continue to get new consoles every three years, and their software will be compatible with the system released right before it. I think that’s going to be the pattern.”

Pachter’s comments tie in with his previous thoughts on the PS5 release date, as he previously predicted the console would launch around 2020---the same time he thinks that 4K TV adoption will really take off. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Xbox Scorpio is scheduled for release in holiday 2017, and is rumored to launch alongside the new Halo title.

Posted: Feb 25, 2017 4:43 pm
Related Forum: PlayStation Forum

Source: http://www.psu.com/news/32292/ps5-release-date-2019