PlayStation boss explains why the company's focusing on PS4 support: "It is crucial"

Despite the excitement of the upcoming PS5 launch, Sony won't forget about the massive audience of players on PS4 any time soon.

In an interview with GamesIndustry, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan talked about how the recent surge in gaming interest brought on by the pandemic has made the lasting potential of PS4 all the more clear. Even as Sony tries to bring as many people as possible into its next generation, it will keep serving those who have already invested in PS4.

"That can be quite powerful, because in 2021, 2022... that PS4 community that we've spoken about, they will be the vast majority of people on PlayStations during that time," Ryan said. "It is crucial that we keep them engaged and happy. And the last six months have demonstrated that we could do that to an extent that we didn't think possible when we were setting our minds pre-COVID."

This is reflected in the fact that many of the most-anticipated upcoming PS5 games, including Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Horizon: Forbidden West, are also coming to PS4. The former is one of the highest-profile PS5 launch games and the latter has a planned release date of some time in 2021, so Sony has made its continued investment in the console clear.

Sony is already planning for PS5 to surpass 100 million sales in its lifetime, a milestone that PS4 reached six years after it hit the market. The massive success of PS4 was a return to form after PS3's relatively slow sales, but we'll have to wait and see if PS5 can eclipse it.

Make sure you check out our PS5 unboxing if you're ready for the jump to next-gen.