Analyst expects the Sony PlayStation 5 to launch in late 2019

The next generation of consoles including the Microsoft Xbox Scarlett and the Sony PlayStation 5 are still in early stages of development so information about them is still very scarce. However, a Japanese analyst firm states that the PlayStation 5 might find its way into the market sooner than anticipated — in late 2019 itself.

Ace Economic Research Institute's (AERI) Hideki Yasuda feels that the launch date of the next generation PlayStation console depends on the availability and supply of required electronic components; specifically the monolithic ceramic capacitors (MLCCs). Capacitor manufacturers such as Murata Manufacturing and TDK Corporation say that the demand for MLCCs is far greater than current supply thereby affecting production of new hardware.

MLCCs are used in many devices including high-end smartphones and cars, and the demand is only slated to go up further given the advancements in smartphone and automobile hardware. If suppliers can ensure adequate supply, Yasuda believes that a late 2019 launch for the PlayStation 5 should be possible.

PlayStation 5 launch date aside, Yasuda also notes that a major factor that contributed to rise in PlayStation 4 sales apart from God of War was Fortnite. The popularity of Fortnite has ensured that microtransactions within the game are now significant enough to contribute revenue for console manufacturers. AERI indicates that the home console market, that was otherwise losing ground to smartphone games, has seen a revival thanks to the Nintendo Switch. 

So far, there have been many contradictory reports regarding the PlayStation 5 launch date. Early this year, there were rumors of select developers receiving PlayStation 5 dev kits but Kotaku's sources claimed that the console cannot be expected before 2020. There was also an announcement by Sony's John Kodera who believed that there is at least a 3 year time frame available before a new console hits the market.

A late 2019 launch might seem plausible given that historically there has been a 6 year gap between each major iteration of the console. With AMD said to be developing Navi GPUs for the next generation consoles, it will be interesting to see what sort of graphic enhancements it will bring to the table.

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