Time to dust off that hype machine. The next generation of video game consoles may debut as early as February 20. That's the date Sony has set aside for an event in New York City, leading some to believe this could be the first-ever announcement of the PlayStation 4, the inevitable successor to the company's current PlayStation 3 game system.
Attached to the invitation is a short teaser video that consists only of a trippy flythrough of the iconic PlayStation shapes, not offering much transparency as to the true purpose of the event. In any case, it has certainly reignited the buzz surrounding next-gen hardware and added strength to rumors that Sony and Microsoft's new consoles may debut before their traditional E3 unveiling.
Update, 8:15 p.m. PT: The Wall Street Journal cited "people familiar with the matter" in reporting this evening that Sony will indeed unveil the PS4 on February 20 and that the device will go on sale "later this year." The Journal's sources also said Sony will add more social gaming features to the new PlayStation and will focus not on juicing up the gadget's hardware but on how players interact with the device. Sony had thought about dumping the PlayStation's optical disk drive in favor of making gamers download new games over the Internet, the Journal reported, but it's decided against that because of concerns over download times. Finally, the Journal said Sony will "likely" go with chips from AMD, rather than the Sony-IBM-Toshiba-developed Cell chip that's in the PS3, a move that could cause compatibility issues with current games and would end Sony's partnership with graphics-chip maker Nvidia.
Re: Sony likely to unveil next PlayStation on Feb. 20
Exciting news.
Heard some cool leaks already with the controller having a touchpad feature etc.
Pics and video streaming with the system....
I wonder if it will have any Kinect like features.
Re: Sony likely to unveil next PlayStation on Feb. 20
Good looking out Kungfro. I'm not as narrow minded as I used to be in the past (getting old and all that ) so I'm definitely looking forward to finding out more about both the new gen consoles that will come out. Not been a Playstation player since PS2 days, but whatever console I think will be the better one I'll pick up.
he PlayStation 4 will launch this year for over 40,000 yen (about $428), according to a report in major Japanese daily the Asahi Shimbun. That's the first clear indication we've gotten on how much the new system might cost, and suggests that while Sony isn't pricing the PS4 too aggressively next to the likes of the Wii U, it may have learned its lesson from the shaky PlayStation 3 launch.
For comparison, upon release in 2006 the PS3 cost around 60,000 yen in its more expensive configuration, and $599 in the US. Meanwhile, the cheapest PS3 now costs 24,980 yen in Japan versus $269 in the US. Were the PS4 to launch at 40,000 yen in Japan, we'd expect an American price point of around $400 or more.
The Asahi Shimbun further corroborates things we've heard from other reports, such as a 2013 launch for the US and Japan — no mention was made of Europe, suggesting the release there may well slip into 2014. Elsewhere, the report says that the PS4 controller will feature a touch pad and be "roughly the same shape" as the current Dual Shock 3. Finally, the Asahi Shimbun states in no uncertain terms that February 20th is the date when we'll hear all this information confirmed for real.
Re: Sony likely to unveil next PlayStation on Feb. 20
Damn... And I just had to buy a brand new PS3 this past weekend. They took a step back in technology with this updated PS3. It has a sliding top to insert games, instead of the futuristic-seeming, front-side entrance that would detect a game being pushed into the slot.
I'm pumped to see what this new system will be like, but if it truly can't play used games, it's another step back from Sony, except this time in keeping not-so-well-off gamers, such as myself, happy.
Sony likely to unveil next PlayStation on Feb. 20
) so I'm definitely looking forward to finding out more about both the new gen consoles that will come out. Not been a Playstation player since PS2 days, but whatever console I think will be the better one I'll pick up.
They took a step back in technology with this updated PS3. It has a sliding top to insert games, instead of the futuristic-seeming, front-side entrance that would detect a game being pushed into the slot.
Re: Sony likely to unveil next PlayStation on Feb. 20
