Sony Won't Be Abandoning The PS3 After Releasing The PS4

In an interview with Weekly Famitsu, Sony Japan prez Hiroshi Kawano and his counterpart at Sony Worldwide, Shuhei Yoshida, addressed the issue of PS3 support after the PS4 release. "It's been seven years since the release of the PS3 and the console continues to sell at a constant pace, plus we have many upcoming titles." Kawano said. "We have no intention of immediately shifting from the PS3 to the PS4."

[Prcko]

Great News

[dredgewalker]

Not really surprising, Sony has always supported its consoles even after they bring in a newer one. Besides it would be foolish to suddenly abandon the PS3 when it already has a huge install base coupled with the fact that it can still bring out mindblowing games.

[s8anicslayer]

I thought that was clear when Sony highlighted much of E3 around the PS3 and basically stated that they will still actively support the PS3.

[3-4-5]

PS2 is still kickin....makes sense.

[Mr Tretton]

Actually they stopped making the PS2.

[MWong]

Of course not, they recently released the last PS2 game. That was their same concept with the PS1. They usually support the old console for 3-4 years after launch.

I think this was another shot at M$ "...to say 'we're releasing a new console, so trade in your old ones for it' would be a maker's ego talking, plain and simple." If I remember right this is what happened with the XBox & XB360 generation change.

[Majin-vegeta]

Duahhh who doesnt know this by now??

[dredgewalker]

New PS3 owners I suppose. To us who has been with the PS from the start we know that there is still a lot of life left for the PS3.

[stage88]

Sony don't abandon their systems.

[Death]

Nobody "abandons" their systems. Late in a consoles life cycle, the user base is very large and hardware costs low. Microsoft just released a new Xbox360 to sell along side the XboxOne. The original Xbox was killed due to an incredibly high production cost since Nvidia would not scale their GPU pricing with lower manufacturing costs over time. The two companies actually went to court over this and if memory serves, Nvidia won which is why Microsoft pulled the plug on the original console.

[Why o why]

Fair point about the last x box but look at this one. Output vs output kinda looks like their focus is elsewhere...that is undeniable. 3rd parties are essentially keeping the 360 alive. I personally dont think ms want to have 2 systems running in tandem as many of the 360 stalwarts may not want to switch to the x1 quick enough. Whoo people with ten times more games than they're getting now will make anybody upgrade to the x1. Ms aren't stupid

Despite me saying this, I doubt sony could replicate this years ps3 line up again. I'm not certain how much support they will give the ps3 next year and beyond but I'm certain however much or little it is, it would be more than ms.

[Death]

Microsoft decided early in this console life cycle that they wanted the system to be a third party platform. I don't know the internal reasons for this, but it's the decision they made.

The Xbox360 as a platform is very profitable for Microsoft. The continued support for both the 360 and PS3 is what will offset the loses typically brought by the launch of a new console. Untill a console base is large enough to sustain a profit, both compaines will rely heavily on the existing base. This is evident by the new 360 model being introduced. The plan is to have continued sales of the existing system along side the new. Not to mention games take quite some time to develop and market. It will be years before all the current projects are completed.

[DJMarty]

@Death - Microsoft killed the Xbox off, so your wrong.

Sony's know Microsoft, Sony supports ther consoles for 10+ years.

4>1

Playstation consoles do last, atleast mine do. I have:

2 PS1
1 PS2 Silm
1 PS3 Launch Fat & 1 PS3 Slim

All work fine.

[miyamoto]

I still play Dino Crisis 2 on my PSOne
I still play Black Rock Shooter on my PSP
I still play Super Robot Wars Alpha 2 on my PS2
I still play Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation on my PS3

PlayStation is BTLL = Built To Last Long

[Death]

Congrats.

I went through 4 or 5 Playstations. Plastic laser track failures were extremely common. I think it was my third Playstation 2 that failed that made me by a slim. Knock on wood, but I am still gaming on my origianl PS3 60 gig.

Had a brand new Wii broken right out of the box.

My launch 360 was sent in 4 times before they got it right.

Consoles are not really built to last. They are built to put as much horsepower in a very small package at a relatively cheap price.

[bloodybutcher]

not so much, 2 ps2's didn't survive me jumping on them(Soul Calibur had such effect on my mind:P). as for ps3, 2 bricked( original 60gb ones). so now i'm rockin' ps3 slim. even though it's ugly:)

[arum1234]

This is no news at all. See the examples of PSOne after releasing PS2, or PS2 after releasing PS3 . . .

Sony is well-known for not abandon their products.

[Death]

Sony is well know for not abandoning their consoles.
Other products come and go depending on their success. With 100-150+ million consoles sold the last two generations, it isn't a case of Sony being nice, it was simple economics.

[arum1234]

True.

[DlocDaBudSmoka]

only thing that comes to mind is a big fat DUH. Sony always has supported their consoles for a minimum of ten years, whether a new iteration releases or not.

[Garrison]

I know I will still be playing my ps3 even with the ps4 being with me. I have amassed of huge library of titles a lot of which I haven't played due to ps+.
PS3 is by no means an unplayable machine due to a new system coming out, it's an HD console and it's games won't look like complete crap on your HDTV like older systems do most of the time.
My set up next gen will be PS3, PC, PS4 and Vita. I might get a wii U and 3ds down the line, I usually have every system out there.

[NarooN]

Most people already knew this. It's just one of those reasons I kept buying Sony consoles ever since PS1. They were still supporting PSone until around 2003 with new games, and then much later on they stopped producing new units. PS2 was still supported and selling like hotcakes years after the PS3 came out.

I remember how Microsoft completely dropped support for Xbox pretty much right before the 360 came out, and Nintendo abandoned the Gamecube when the Wii was getting ready to come out. Not trying to sound like a fanboy, just telling it like it is... Sony sticks with their systems.

[Lockhart]

What a pointless article... ah well.

[KrimsonKody]

When has Sony EVER not support a previous console?
Hell, even as of today, there's some PSN & mini games that work on the PSPGo.

Also, makes no sense to stop support, especially since the PS4 will not be backwards compatible. That's post-revenue. Even with PS4 being here, there's still a sales base there for PS3.

[o-Sunny-o]

That's a given. It's not Microsoft were dealing with. Sony give us an outstanding gaming year with PS3 this gen. Ending the year with game after game until they cross the line to the PS4 line. PS4 will take care of next gen gamers and PS3 will take care of the other gamers. ^~^ I'm ready for next gen but keeping my trusty PS3.

[ScamperCamper]

Smart move Sony. I say Sony is pwning M$ in the PR game. It's game over as they say.

[ziggurcat]

they didn't abandon the PS2 when the PS3 released, so i don't see how this is any different.