While Sony and Microsoft will soon switch gears from the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, both plan to support and deliver new content to the older consoles past the launch of their next-gen systems. Now, both companies have revealed how long players can expect the older consoles to continue to receive support, even after their replacements are launched.
In an interview with Games Industry, Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida announced that the PlayStation 3 will be supported for several years after the launch of the PlayStation 4, but most likely not last as long as the PlayStation 2 was supported after the PlayStation 3's launch.
"PS3 has been doing great - but it's not like everyone owns a PS3 already..." Yoshida told Games Industry. "There's always a group of consumers who come late in the cycle, people who wait for the price to come down. We're expanding geographically as well. The demand from Latin America, for example, is really really strong for PS3. So we'll have a parallel strategy with PS3 and PS4, like we had between PS2 and PS3. PS3 was launched in 2006, in the sixth year of PS2, but PS2 lasted for another five years. I don't know if PS3 will last another five years - but definitely for the next couple of years, because of the price difference, the great library of games and the publisher side being able to support both."
While Yoshida may not have an exact timetable for when the PlayStation 3 will be phased out completely, it will be interesting to see what games come to the console after the launch of the PlayStation 4.
Microsoft similarly has stated in the past that the company will continue to support the Xbox 360 for many years, and plan to release 100 new games for the console by 2016. This means that the Xbox 360 should have a longer lifecycle than the PlayStation 3, and the Xbox 360 should be able to look forward to more content from developers well into the Xbox One's lifecycle.
However, this strategy may backfire for the Xbox One. Many gamers may feel as though the switchover won't be necessary for quite some time. After all, if blockbuster titles such as Titanfall and Destiny are coming to the console a user already owns, they will not be compelled to spend $500 on a Xbox One.