According to a report from SBBIT, Japanese analyst Norio Imanaka predicts the PS5 could sell 200 to 300 million units in 5 to 6 years after its launch. Let us put this into perspective: the PlayStation 2, which is currently the best selling console of all time, managed to move 155 million units.
The PlayStation 4, which lands somewhere in the top five best-selling consoles of all time, has sold 112 million units so far.
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Imanaka is a chief analyst at Rakuten Securities Economic Research Institute, and their sales prediction comes with the belief that the "PS5 could be a terminator of the game industry, ending the long-running console war."
Suggesting that the PS5 could be more than twice as successful as its predecessor is hard to believe. This is primarily due to the resounding success we've seen from the Nintendo Switch, which has managed to sell 61 million units in a little longer than three years.
Additionally, Microsoft is playing a competitive game with Xbox Game Pass and the $300 Xbox Series S. It's hard to believe that Sony would be as successful as Imanaka predicts when the PlayStation 5 has tough competition this time around.
The PlayStation 4 was partially such a large success because the Wii U and Xbox One were unable to match it in consumer appeal. Now that Nintendo and Microsoft have significantly upped their game, Sony might not successfully dominate the market in the same way.
However, if this comes true, it would make for the most successful console life-cycle we've ever seen.
