Top Analyst Slams Sony as “Failing” in the Gaming Industry While PS5 Becomes the Most Successful Console in Company History


A heated debate is brewing in the global gaming industry as renowned analyst Michael Pachter has publicly criticized Sony, calling it a “bad company” that is “failing” in the gaming business. Pachter argues that Sony has fallen behind in adapting to the industry’s future, citing a lack of serious investment in cloud gaming and TV-based game streaming. Sony, however, is pushing back hard against the criticism, pointing to the PlayStation 5’s record-breaking performance as proof that its strategy is working.
In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Pachter predicted that the future of gaming will move toward direct integration with television screens, similar to how movies are streamed on Netflix or how iOS content is accessed on smart TVs. He believes most games will soon follow a free-to-play model, driven by cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence.
Pachter argues that Sony has failed to evolve because it continues to tether its gaming ecosystem exclusively to the PS5 console instead of expanding access directly to TVs or cloud platforms. While Sony was one of the first companies to launch a game streaming service with PlayStation Now over a decade ago, and recently introduced the PS Portal handheld device with streaming support, Pachter views these steps as insufficient to meet the industry’s future direction.
Meanwhile, Sony executives strongly disagree with that assessment. Hideaki Nishino, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, shared data at Tokyo Game Show revealing that the PS5 has become the most successful console in the company’s history. The console has generated a staggering $136 billion (about 4.39 trillion baht) in revenue for Sony’s Game and Network Services division, surpassing the PS4 era, which earned $107 billion (about 3.45 trillion baht) between 2013 and 2019.
The PS5 has also shipped over 80.5 million units as of June 30, despite facing challenges such as import tax-driven price increases and spec adjustments like the PS5 Slim’s reduced SSD capacity from 1TB to 825GB. Despite these changes, global demand for the console remains exceptionally strong.
As Sony faces criticism for “missing the future” of the gaming industry, its financial and commercial success tells a different story. The contrast between Pachter’s vision of a cloud-powered, TV-integrated future and Sony’s proven achievements with PS5 has sparked a major debate over which approach will ultimately prevail. The real answer may only become clear when the next generation of gaming technology arrives. Until then, the question remains: is Sony truly falling behind, or is it proving that traditional console gaming still has a powerful future?