Hardcore gamers have probably heard about Michael Pachter. He’s an analyst at Webbush Securities and famous for his gaming predictions. He’s right every once and a while, but I wouldn’t call him gaming’s Nostradamus. Even so, it’s always interesting to see what he thinks and compare it with our own thoughts. To this end, he has revealed yet another prediction during a podcast. He seems to believe that Sony is going to wait and see what happens with Project Scarlett before they go public with PS5. How does that make you feel? Is that even something we think is possible? It’s time to discuss. Pachter’s Prediction: A Hint of Truth? Pachter’s predictions are often met with mixed reactions from the community. Sometimes he’s pretty close, but other times he makes a vast majority of the community’s eyes roll. We’ve got a new prediction from him, courtesy of an interview with GamingBolt where he mentioned a new prediction about the PS5. According to Pachter, they could be waiting on Microsoft: “I’m sure Microsoft intends to launch first, and I am equally certain that the new Xbox will be backwards compatible with any Xbox One X software. I agree that it’s hard for Xbox One X purchasers, but they should know 4 years into a cycle that there is another one coming. My guess is that Microsoft intends to launch in 2020, but if they think Sony is going to launch the PS5 then, they will launch early.. Let’s dive in and see how I feel about these predictions. Michael Pachter’s Vision For The PS5: Releasing in 2019? Michael Pachter spoke with Gaming Bolt in the wake of Shawn Layden’s PS5 comments, and of course, the analyst had some predictions to throw out for those interested in his wisdom. Pachter confirmed his beliefs that the PS5 will indeed be backwards compatible, but he also mentioned a release date: 2019. In Pachter’s words: “The PlayStation 4 Pro is better (from a technical perspective) than the PS4, so I think that’s a half step towards the PlayStation 5. I think the PS5 will another half step. 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. So I think they will build a console that will be backwards compatible with the PS4 Pro. So I think it will be perceived by the consumers to be a half step and I think Shawn is telling the truth when he says it will be a full-fledged console.” Pachter went on to explain his prediction, saying that Sony is waiting for the 4K market to mature more before they release their new console. He admits that it could be 2019 or 2020, but leans towards the former. According to his predictions, Sony already has the PS5 nailed down, they’re just waiting for the timing to be right. Breaking Down Pachter’s Claims: A Few Hits and … Read More
Will the PS4 Be Sony’s Last Console?
Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter is one of those people who you either love or hate. He makes a lot of bold statements about the game industry and about games in general. Some people clench their fists when he makes a sweeping claim about a game’s sales when it’s not even out yet, but others will take what he says to heart. Now he’s talking about the PS5, so of course we had to lend an ear. He’s predicting the fall of consoles, which is nothing new, but what he’s predicting will replace them is another story entirely. Let’s take a look at his predictions and how Sony has reacted to them. This should be fun. Pachter: “Growth Will Require Leaving Traditional Consoles Behind” Michael Pachter took the stage during DICE Europe in 2015 and claimed that the consoles have hit a wall in terms of their growth. In his words: “The console installed base is as big as it’s ever going to get.” He believes that this generation will not surpass any previous ones, and a generation after that would do the same. No more growth, period. Here are his predictions for this generation: The Wii U is going to sell 20 million units compared to 100 million for the Wii The PlayStation 4 is going to sell 120 million or 130 million The Xbox One will sell 100 to 110 million Xbox 360 and PS3 combined sold 270 million, this time around the total will be 260 million Pachter says that the surge of new gamers playing on their smartphones and on casual consoles like the Wii opens up a huge avenue for more people to play Sony and Microsoft’s games, but these experiences are out of reach since they don’t own a console to play them on. He clarifies by saying quote “This is the last real console cycle. I don’t mean that Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo will go bankrupt and shut down, they will not. Each of them will make another console, some people will buy them, and the next console cycle will be to this console cycle what the 3DS is to the DS (15 million per year compared to 26 million per year for the DS).” All-in-all, pachter’s stance is thus: “So when I say that this console cycle is the last console cycle, the reason is that console games shouldn’t require a console. And I’m not talking about the cloud.” No Consoles? No Cloud? Explain! Pachter argues that games only need a CPU, a GPU, storage, and a controller. As smartphones and set-top hardware become more powerful, all of these thing will be present in devices besides the consoles. By the time the PS5 is supposed to release, Pachter says that “you’re going to have a CPU/GPU in your house that is connected to your television.” He is of course referring to devices like the Roku box, Amazon Fire TV, or Apple TV which allow you to purchase and play apps on your television. … Read More