PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch could be in trouble this year, as year-on-year video game revenue is tipped to drop for the first time since the mid-90s.
Proof that the PS5 and Xbox Two can’t come soon enough, London research firm Pelham Smithers believes the market will shrink in 2019.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Smithers blames ageing PS4 and Xbox One consoles, a lack of blockbuster releases and Fortnite-fatigue for the potential drop in revenue.
Mobile gaming is also expected to take a hit in China, as a stricter new approvals system comes into force.
“The various bits of the jigsaw puzzle just don’t add up, so we’re looking for the market to shrink in 2019,” Smithers said.
“The sell-off in video game stocks is primarily down to a growing realisation of the risk that this view is right.”
Interestingly, if the PS5 and Xbox Two don’t launch until late 2020 as predicted, then this decline will continue into 2021.
“If the PlayStation 5 comes at the end of 2020, that’s great for 2021 but bad for 2020,” Smithers added.
According to recent reports, Sony will host a small PS5 reveal in mid-2019, before showcasing the console in full at the returning PlayStation Experience (PSX) event.
Furthermore, it’s said that most studios are in possession of a PS5 dev kit, which is described as a monster.
While the post acknowledges that things may change, this would certainly explain why Sony dropped out of next year’s E3 and didn’t host a PlayStation Experience event.
A 2020 release date would give Sony a chance to release its final set of PS4 exclusives.
This includes The Last of Us 2, Media Molecule’s Dreams and Ghost of Tsushima.
The news comes after Sony filed a patent for a new type of DualShock controller, believed to be for the PS5.
Filed on October 16, the controller shares similarities with the DualShock, only this one features a touchscreen instead of a trackpad.