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Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida has reportedly called into question the chance of there being a PlayStation 5.
That’s according to OddWorld creator Lorne Lanning, who said during his appearance on the Game Informer Show (via NeoGAF) that he posed the question to Yoshida-san about a potential PS4 successor ahead of an onstage interview between the pair.
"I said, 'well, what does the PlayStation 5 look like?' and he said 'you mean if'. [...] I said 'are you willing to say that on a stage?' and he said 'yeah, it's an if'."
While this isn’t likely to mean the end of the PlayStation brand as we know it, Lanning was quick to add that the prospect of releasing new hardware that is intended to last seven years---as was the case with the PS3 and Xbox 360---is becoming less a viable option in this day and age.
"It was a really interesting thing," added Lanning, "and he didn't give me a clear answer, but he's hinting at [needing] to be more agile. None of us know what the future really looks like, so how do we adapt faster? To me that's the way he was thinking about it [...] The idea that you're going to be releasing a piece of technology that lasts seven years into the future, I think, is less and less viable."
Just recently, reports have cropped up that Sony is planning on releasing an upgraded version of the PS4, codenamed Neo. The claims have been backed up by more than one source, with DigitalFoundry yesterday commenting that the device is likely to be released in March 2017.
The PS4 launched in November 2013 alongside the Xbox One, and has already sold nearly 36 million consoles worldwide to date.
Sony has a major year ahead of it with the launch of PlayStation VR in October, plus a host of major exclusives including Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, The Last Guardian, Gran Turismo Sport and No Man’s Sky.
