Take-Two CEO: 'I think Gen 9 consoles will grow meaningfully'

Gen 9 consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series hardware are expected to grow meaningfully over time--at least that's the take from one of the industry's most influential players.

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PlayStation and Xbox just reported sluggish hardware performance. Quarterly console sales have dropped across both sides of the divide, with Xbox HW down a mighty 42% year-over-year. But this isn't the end for Gen9; Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick believes that the ninth console generation still has room for improvement. This makes sense, given his company is expected to help dramatically catalyze Gen9 console sales when Grand Theft Auto 6 releases in Fall 2025.

In a recent Q1 Fiscal Year 2025 earnings call, Zelnick shared his thoughts about the PS5 and Xbox Series generation, offering an interesting corollary to a Sony business report from May. In that report, Sony indicated that PS4 users represented half of its active console userbase.

In the call, Zelnick also offered a unique counterpoint to Gen8's apparent stickiness: NBA 2K games, in particular, drastically missed expectations on PS4. So despite gamers still using PS4 systems, it appears that this data does not actually lead to more earnings per user, at least in some of Take-Two's best-earning franchises.

And Take-Two is ready to better capitalize on Gen9 with a slew of new games, including GTA 6, a new BioShock, annualized sports titles, and a number of unannounced console-based projects.

"...No, I don't think what consumers are saying is they are good with Gen 8 and don't care about Gen 9.

"We saw the exact contrary with regard to NBA 2K, where Gen 8 actually was not a high performer and performed worse than we expected.

"Gen 9 has been incredibly powerful. So, I think the Gen 9 platforms will continue to perform. I think you'll continue to see meaningful growth in that installed base, and I wouldn't put too much weight on a particular period of time.

"I was asked earlier today by someone, 'What's next on the hardware side?' We're not in the hardware business, and I wouldn't even know how to answer that question, but what's next on the entertainment side and the software side is we've got a bunch of great titles in-market, great live services, and great new titles coming.

"We have the best pipeline we've ever had, and it's close to coming to fruition. We feel really great about that."

Also, for more info on hardware trends in US markets, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella had this to say about recent console sales in the region: