A huge amount of their revenue is from console sales but the profit margin is minimal as they have to account for the expenses of every console manufactured so that 33-40% less revenue would be offset by not having the expenses of the console in the first place. I never said for them to eliminate their console, I simply said to expand their platform and eco-system in addition to having their console. Instead of console and that's it, Sony should have console, PC, cloud streaming and subscription. Add in an eventual TV app for PlayStation Plus and whatnot and they would be expanding their platform and eco-system which is far more important than only having the console because the consoles all have an expiration date. The other stuff not so much if at all.
What the consumer base wants though is the minority. The hardcore fans who buy majority or every exclusive is the minority. It's about getting the majority of consumers because there's much more of them and are more casual which increases the chances of getting them into your platform and eco-system via other means.
Hardware is great and ahead of streaming now but I don't see it staying that way long term simply because streaming can be upgraded and updated without the need of selling hardware. I disagree with the mid-gen console idea simply because PS4 Pro sold around 10m which for that number while 107m stayed with the PS4 base or PS4 slim, it's just not worth the investment especially when you have to keep the original price tag of the base from launch ($500) or possibly increase it.
Instead of hardware revisions, I believe that both Microsoft and Sony should with next generation release a "modular" console which would keeps the core intact but makes more customizable like a PC. Want to get more SSD space, upgrade the SSD. Want 24GB of RAM instead of 16GB, upgrade it. Same with the CPU and GPU. Granted, this would probably be more expensive to pull off but having compatible components that can be upgraded if the user so chooses would be huge for those who want the best what prefer the console experience while those who don't can simply stay with the base console and not upgrade anything.
As for PS2, the life cycle was 13 years. PS4 was around 8+ years. I think they would have needed another 5 years to match or surpass PS2. The biggest issue would be the price. PS2 launched at $300. PS4 launched at $400 and PS5 launched at $500. I don't think that limiting production mattered for PS4 because at the end, it always made more sense for Sony to priortize PlayStation 5. Maybe if there was no pandemic and chip shortage, the PS4 would still exist but that's simply a "what if" scenario.
Sony does focus on their platform. They're simply expanding it into other areas in order to get more growth, more revenue and more profits. For example, I can see a lot of PC gamers who have no intention on buying a PS5 but yet, will buy Sony's exclusives on PC which is getting more consumers and users into their platform and eco-system where as without this, they never get those PC gamers. Increasing the consumer base via console or PC simply means more revenue and more profit for Sony which in turn equals more console exclusives for you and me.
