Analyst Predicts PS4 Will Reach 100 Million In 2019, New PS5 And Xbox Systems For 2021

While many gamers are just now opening their shiny new PlayStation 4 Pros and Xbox One Xs, the big names behind these popular platforms never stop looking ahead. This generation of gaming continues to get better, and it often makes many of us wonder what's next? Well, according to one analyst - big things are in store for the Sony side of gaming.

In an interview with GamingBolt, esteemed IDC research for gaming Lewis Ward sat down to discuss what the probable future will look like, including new consoles and sales goals. According to Ward, PlayStation 4 is on track for hitting that 100 million sales milestone in 2019, while 2021 promises to reward that progress made: "Right now I think PS5 and the next-gen Xbox will arrive in 2021, but that's really just a tentative placeholder in my forecast.

Though tentative as it may be, this does correspond with earlier reports by another analyst that also stated backwards compatibility, like Xbox One's, will also be arriving on the Sony platform:

"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 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's will be a full fledged console."

The above analyst, Michael Pachter, also added:

"PS5 is probably going to be their real 4K device, it feels to me like they are not going to launch the PS5 until sales momentum for the PS4 slows and it just hasn't yet. Certainly get through 2017 and 2018, I just don't see it slowing in 2018 which would prompt them to release something in 2019. If it slows in 2019 then they will probably launch it in 2020. You can very safely trade in your Xbox One and buy and Xbox One X and start saving $10 a month, you'll have some time before you need to trade it in for a PS5."

For now, players can enjoy the current systems which are both incredibly impressive. Until then, happy gaming!