Analyst: PlayStation is doomed, they can't compete and have no chance

Microsoft is so far ahead that "PlayStation is doomed," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter dramatically said in a recent Xbox podcast.

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According to the analyst, Microsoft has an "insurmountable lead" in services, infrastructure, and overall ecosystem that has future-proofed Xbox for the next 10 years. Sony, on the other hand, doesn't have that kind of lasting power--at least that's what Pachter believes.

"I think PlayStation's doomed, and I think they're going to cease to exist as we know them in about 10 years. They can't compete. They have no chance," Pachter said during an RDX stream.

Sony has the upside with console sales right now, but Pachter believes the industry is moving away from dedicated hardware and more towards online, cloud, and services. The argument is Sony's content pales in comparison to Microsoft's, especially with the inclusion of Bethesda and soon Activision-Blizzard (Sony has a multitude of studios and wholly-owed properties, as well as licenses to Spider-Man, one of the most popular super heroes on the planet).

"They've got a huge head start now with 17 million PS5s as of December, Microsoft hasn't released a number but you know it's 8 or less. PlayStation is going to pass like they're standing still...not in console sales, in Game Pass numbers.

"Microsoft has 25 million Game Pass users without Activision. How many are they going to get with Activision? There's so much content."

"[Sony is] not a couple years behind. It's an insurmountable leap."

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While it's true that Sony is technically behind Microsoft insofar as services, having only recently supported initiatives like cross-play and cross-platform releases on PC, Sony is currently readying its own Game Pass competitor service codenamed Spartacus that will combine PlayStation Now and PS Plus.

Sony has also purchased Bungie for $3.6 billion to help bolster its live services lineup, which will include 10 games by 2026, and to help supercharge the value of its upcoming Spartacus service. Let's not forget that Sony is also interested in licensing out its properties for films and TV shows at a rate that outpaces Microsoft, who has done a Halo show and licensed an upcoming Fallout TV series.

Pachter goes on to equate PlayStation Now with the comparatively meager offering of Paramount+, saying that it's a niche game streaming service.

"Sony is going to try and compete with what content? Game content, no. With Gaikai they have a lot of patents, but the content's not there. Sure, Sony's got really great first-party content, it's like 4-5 games a year.

"Microsoft's got way more now. When you add Bethesda and Activision...Bethesda is about as big as Sony's first party. Activision is bigger. The catalog is huge.

"It's really like comparing Netflix or Disney+ to Paramount Plus. They have 10x the subscribers of Paramount+ because they have all the content."