Why Sony is 'increasingly bullish' on PlayStation 5 adoption and sales

Sony's future plans with the PS5 depend on the PS4's past and present.

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In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan confirms something we've known all along: The PS5's adoption depends on the current-gen PS4. We've long said backwards compatibility and seamless cross-gen transitions are the most important things for next-gen consoles. Turns out Sony thinks the same way. That's why the PS5 plays thousands of PS4 games at launch.

Since the PS5 will use the PS4 as a kind of springboard, Sony sees big things for the PS5's future. This confidence in the PS5 has led to a significant $945 million upwards revision (+35%) in projected FY2020 games earnings. Now Ryan explains why Sony is so bullish on the PS5's adoption rate, success, and how the PS4's 100 million-strong+ install base will be a launching pad for the next-gen successor.

"We are increasingly bullish in terms of the number of people that we think may engage with PS5. Firstly, because we don't begin from a standing start like we did with PS4, when we were coming out of a very lackluster PS3 platform, with a low level of networking across the community," Ryan said.

"Now we are starting with 100 million gamers, who we hope to transition very, very rapidly onto PS5. And it's an engaged, tribal, networked community, who will be deeply and profoundly engaged with their PlayStation 5, we hope, from a very early moment."

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Read Also: Sony is also bullish on next-gen sales: PS5 to outsell PS4's 7.6 million launch sales, Sony predicts

With backwards compatibility, Sony is trying to mingle the PS4 and PS5 into a kind of natural evolution. The idea is to pass the baton in hardware performance and experiences without having to leave your entire games library behind. For the generation's best-selling platform that's moved nearly 1.5 billion games, this is extremely important.

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The PS5's robust and newly-designed UI also helps integration and deeper network engagement. The new UI system melds gamers even more into an established and cross-generation ecosystem alongside specific features like in-game hints, picture-in-picture streaming and viewing, and a layered UX designed to not only respect your time but keep you glued to the game for even longer.

"The second is that the PS5 has been built as a networked device, with features and functionality coming out of the experience from the last six or seven years, designed to give networked gamers a better, richer, deeper, faster, more seamless network gaming experience."

The PS5 will release November 12 for $499 (disc version) and $399 (digital-only).