How Soon After The PS4 Comes Out, Will They Stop Making PS3 Games?

Dreek Lass

Dreek Lass

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I have quite a few consoles in my house, but I have been out of the gaming scene for a while now - at least, that is when it comes to Sony. I have a Playstaton 2 and that is the most up to date Sony console that I own. The reason for this is money. I just didn't have it to spend on new game consoles or games. But after seeing some of the recent games to be released on PS3, I have decided that I must get myself a Playstation 3, even if it is a second hand one.

But one of the things that I am worried about is the fact that the Playstaton 4 is going to be released soon. I kind of feel like there is no point in spending money that I don't really have at the moment, on a PS3 when they are going to stop releasing and making games for it when the newer and better console comes out.

So, I would like to ask if anybody knows; how soon after new consoles are released do they stop making and releasing games for the previous console?

Any answer would be a great help in my decision making as to whether to get the Ps3 or not. Thanks.
 
Well, lets look back at Sony's history for a second...

The Playstation 1 launched in 1994, and the final game for it came out in 2004.

The Playstation 2 launched in 2000, and the last game for it came out in 2013.

So, the PS1 released games up to 4 years after the PS2 launched. The Playstation 3 came out in 2006, so the PS2 released games up to 7 years after the PS3 launched. So, a safe bet would be another 4 to 7 years. However, given the success of the Xbox 360, the PS3 isn't as big of a hit console as the PS2 was. So, I'd say closer to 4 years for the continuation of PS3 games. Also, Sony did originally say that they had planned on supporting the PS3 for 10 years, when it originally launched. Which would mean til around 2016. Which is only 3 years away. So, I'd say it's a safe bet for the PS3 to continue to see games for the next 3 to 4 years, at least. How many over that time is yet to be seen. But I'd wager around 3 to 4 years. Especially since a lot of games releasing soon are choosing to be on the PS3 and not the PS4.

But yeah, I'd say about 3 or 4 years, at least. The first year or 2 should continue to see regular releases. But years 3 and 4 and more should see less and less and less.
 
No, they are not going to stop making PS3 games right off the bat as they can't afford to do that. Their fan-base will be annihilated. Don't you think so?
 
Hello :) Thanks for responding with such an in-depth response. I really appreciate it, as I don't want to make an investment that will come back to bite me in the butt later on lol. I thought that they had long ago stopped making PS2 games, so I am really shocked to hear that the last game was made this year. I thought they were long done with that console., but I suppose it makes sense because the PS3 can play PS1 and PS2 games too, so there was still a reason to make games for those consoles.

But with the PS4, it doesn't have backward mobility, so I kind of assumed that they would stop making games for it soon after it was released.
 
Hey, no problem at all. The more info the merrier, I say. And yeah, this year only saw about 2 or 3 games total, for the PS2. Last year saw 4 games total. So the last couple of years have been really, really slow, for the PS2. But that makes sense when you release that at this time, they would of gotten the PS4 development kits, and started worked on that. So why work on a console that would then be 2 generations behind.

2009 was the last "Big" year for the PS2. Lots and lots of PS2 titles came out then. Somewhere in the range of 70 to 80 games. Give or take. Maybe a little bit more, like, closer to 90. I'd have to double check. But it's within that range. 70-90. Not bad for a system 9 years old at the time. 2010 saw a huge drop off, and only had about 15 games, or so. So about one every 3 and a half weeks. Give or take. 2011 had maybe 8 or 9 titles, total. 2012 saw about 4 or 5. And this year saw like 3 or so. Something like that. The final game for the PS2 was a soccer game. It was either PES 2014 Pro Evolution Soccer, or EA FIFA 2014. Both released on September 24, 2013. So the final PS2 game was only just released about a week ago. Of course, there may be another PS2 game or two to still be released. But yeah, the last game that I know of came out about a week ago. So that's interesting to know.

So, if you consider that 2009 was a good year for the PS2, and that was 9 years after it's release, then you can make a guess that the PS3, which came out in 2006, should still have a good flow of games coming out for it for a little while longer. I'm guess at least another 3 years. Possibly 4. It should start to slow down by then. Of course, that's if the XO and PS4 sell as well as they hope it does. If it does, I'd say 3 or 4 years is a safe bet. If not, the PS3 and 360 could still have some life in them for another 6 years or so. Of course, that's dependent on how the newer consoles fair and how soon the gamers migrate from these current systems to the newer ones. That's a little less predictable. But if all you are concerned about is the short term, then you should be fine. A few more years isn't bad, considering how long these systems have been out already.

Good luck with that.
 
http://www.polygon.com/2013/10/3/4798366/shuhei-yoshida-ps3-future-five-years

Shuhei Yoshida prognosticates about the PS3's next five years

The PlayStation 2 lasted as an active platform five years after Sony launched the PlayStation 3, but the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide, Studios Shuhei Yoshida, isn't sure how long the PS3 will last after the PS4's release.

In an interview with GamesIndustry International, Yoshida said that the PS3 will "definitely" be around for the next couple of years because of the price difference between the $200 - $250 PS3 and its next-gen counterpart, the $400 PS4, but he doesn't know how long that will last.

"We'll see," Yoshida said. "There's still a lot of price difference in terms of the hardware and the games, and PS3 has been doing great — but it's not like everyone owns a PS3 already. There's always a group of consumers who come late in the cycle, people who wait for the price to come down. We're expanding geographically as well. The demand from Latin America, for example, is really, really strong for PS3. So we'll have a parallel strategy with PS3 and PS4, like we had between PS2 and PS3. PS3 was launched in 2006, in the sixth year of PS2, but PS2 lasted for another five years. I don't know if PS3 will last another five years — but definitely for the next couple of years, because of the price difference, the great library of games and the publisher side being able to support both."

He also pointed out that the PS3 will continue to receive new games, that "many indie announcements at GamesCom were for games coming to PS4, PS Vita and PS3" and that some games will be multi-generational.

Though Yoshida didn't name any specific games, titles like EA Digital Illusions CE's Battlefield 4, Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Ghosts and Ubisoft's Watch Dogs will fit the multi-generational mold this year. For more on the indie games headed to the various PlayStation platforms, check out Polygon's coverage of Sony from GamesCom 2013.
Click to expand...
So I came across this article today. Hopefully this should answer your question, straight from the source. Seems that my 3 to 4 year guess was about right, as he's not sure 5 years will be in their plans. But the 3 year mark seems most likely. With the 4th year slowing down a bit. So there you go. Hope that helps.
 
They used to officially shoot for a 10-year life cycle, but PS2 really outdid everything.
 
I know that the last expansion for Final Fantasy XI came out it March for Japan only. It is understandable because there are still plenty of Japanese subscribers that are still playing that game.
 
Lawn has more than answered that for you, but to be perfectly honest - you should just get the PS3. It's as cheap as can reasonably be expected, it has a huge library with quite a few great exclusives, and it works - PS4 is still an unknown quantity right now (although it's one I prefer to the Xbone).
 
Wow, I wasn't expecting such accurate answers. Thanks :)

I ended up getting the PS3 for my birthday, because I had been jabbering on about how I had finally found a way to make a lot of money online, and about how the first thing that I was going to buy was a games console; either a PS3 or a PS4. But my mother and sister ended up getting me the PS3 instead, which was cool of them. So far I only have three games; GTA V, UFC Undisputed 3, and WWE 13.

I am not really an Xbox kind of person. I hate the control pads, and I just am not familiar with it. I have always played Sony Playstations and enjoyed my experiences with them. I am going to get a ps4 too eventually lol.
 
Lending to the initial questiong it seems like they're intent to make games solely for the PS4 to encourage sales and box out PS3 users. I find this to be idiotic but I do not have any part in dealing with Sony so I'm along for the ride. I am just not a fan of using games to force people into purchasing a system. Let the system speak for itself.
 
May I ask where you got this information from? While I understand wanting to shift players to the new console it seems strange that Sony would use this particular tactic... I mean they just stopped with the PS2 games in like 2010-2012... seriously.
 
I guess as long as they think they will earn money from them, games will be made (or at least ported to) for the PS3.
We all know Sony loves money, so I guess PS3 will stick around for a while.
 
PS2 still has the occasional game come out in japan.. and they only just stopped coming out here. soo. I expect a LOOOOOOONG lifespan for the PS3.
 
I have a sinking feeling that about 3 to 5 years, they'll stop making games for the PlayStation 3 after that.

Call it a hunch, but after awhile if they want to make money, they'll stop before going a decade long, since the games cost more than they did for the last two systems. They'll need time to improve the graphics of the PS4 to make it look different than the PS3. So, I say that should be an adequate amount of time to improve upon it.
 
You usually have a good span of time before they stop making the games. The new Xbox 1 came out not too long ago, and I'm pretty sure that they are still making Xbox games. I mean I haven't been buying any of the new games coming out so I don't know. I know that they are making the Black Ops 3 for the Xbox still, so you will have a good 8 or so years with those games still being made.
 
The formula with consoles these days are 1-3 years between "Next Generation" console jumps, and 3-10 years before production of video game units stop for that said console. After 10 years, they tend to start cutting support lines, help lines, and product placement.. you'll just notice it phase out (or become lower and lower) in your local video game/store sections until it becomes to minuscule it's phased out entirely.
 
Well, there's plenty of PS3 games still getting release in Japan. I wouldn't be surprised if they are still releasing games for the PS3 over the next 3-4 years. PS4 sales have been tepid over there and the PS3 still enjoys a large install base so I expect support to continue for some time. Also expect the odd homebrew game to be developed on the PS3 sometime in the not too distant future, there's plenty of life left in this old box.
 
For foreign markets, just how long does that hold up against primary markets where they still enjoy success? I imagine they'd cut the foreign markets down and down more over time, favoring the home market since they still enjoy wide purchases. Even this won't sustain them, and after a couple more years down the road a majority of studios will swap over to making/releasing games primarily for the 4 and let the 3 phase out. It's just how business works, sadly.
 
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