Get ready to experience a roller coaster of emotions, Sony diehards. In a press conference early Thursday morning, the Japanese console maker ushered in the end of an era with the bittersweet announcement that they will stop production of the PlayStation 5.
Wow, gamers. We knew something like this might be coming, but that doesn’t make it any less painful to know that this historic period in video game history is finally coming to a close.
“It was a wild ride, but all good things must come to an end,” said a visibly emotional Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida, pausing several times to collect himself while announcing the momentous decision to cease manufacturing the console. “We want to thank the designers and the game makers. But most of all we want to thank the fans for everything they did to make this the most incredible three months in our company’s history.”
“It was our privilege to bring the PlayStation 5 into your homes,” he concluded.
For fans of the iconic console, the decision—effective immediately—is an emotional moment that reveals exactly how far we’ve come since the console’s launch way back on November 12, 2020. In fact, there’s so much to remember, it’s hard to even know where to begin. Most will think back on the unforgettable times they spent with titles ranging from 2020's Astro’s Playroom to the Nioh 2 Remastered, also released in 2020. For us, though? Our nostalgia knobs will always be turned up to eleven just remembering last year’s cross-generation release of Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla.
Of course, it’s better to go out on top than for people to grow tired of you, and we wish Sony all the best on their farewell tour selling off their last backstock of consoles. And as much as we wish the PS5 could last forever, we prefer this to the sad spectacle of watching Microsoft trying to wring a few more months out of the doddering Xbox Series X.
We, for one, are glad to see Sony taking the classy way out. And though they might be closing the book on one of the most notable epochs in video games history, we can’t wait to see what they’re up to next!