We are just over three months away from E3 2012. As such, it’s only natural to expect more and more info to emerge — official and otherwise — about the next-generation consoles. Nintendo has been up-front about its intentions to reveal Wii U details throughout the year, while news about Microsoft’s Xbox 720 Durango has been popping up practically non-stop for months.
Sony is another story. Comparatively few PlayStation 4 details have surfaced, and the company has been steadfast in its insistence that there will be no PS4 announcement at E3 2012. Now, Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO and President Jack Tretton has weighed in on the subject, insisting yet again that 2012 is not the right time to start talking PlayStation 4.
You’ve got to hand it to the team at Sony — they’re nothing if not consistent. After Kaz Harai’s CES 2012 pronouncement that PS4 would not be revealed at E3, PlayStation France’s Philippe Cardone went even further, stating that Sony would likely be the last company to reveal its next-generation plans.
In a new interview with IGN, Tretton discusses the reasoning behind Sony’s reticence to jump on the next-gen bandwagon.
“In terms of when you talk about [the next generation] and when you announce it, it really depends on the health of the existing platform and the other things you have going on. And right now, we’re focused on PlayStation 3, and I’ve got another platform (PlayStation Vita) to get out the door in seven days, so I don’t want to be thinking about trying to launch new technology anytime soon. I want to focus all our energy on our console business, which is really just hitting its stride, and Vita, which really deserves a dedicated push from us.”
“I, quite frankly, would be very distracted if I had to be talking about next generation hardware this year.”
It is unquestionably a time of transition for Sony. In addition to the pending North American launch of the PlayStation Vita, there is also the matter of Kaz Hirai’s promotion to CEO of the company — a promotion that prompted an unusually frank admonition from Hirai himself. On top of everything else, the PlayStation 3 does, in fact, continue to sell quite well. For the week ending February 11, 2012, Sony managed to move 173,171 consoles worldwide, second only to Nintendo’s currently unstoppable 3DS, which moved 211,326 units.
Given Vita’s current situation in Japan, where rumors are flying that developers are moving projects to 3DS, Sony must see the North American launch as a fresh start for the system. The system’s $50 million dollar marketing campaign attests to as much. So, yes, Sony as a company is really, really busy, and as such, now is probably not the time for them to start stoking the PS4 fires. But…
Whether Sony likes it or not, the next generation is coming. Sony’s PlayStation 3 will be competing with Nintendo’s Wii U before the end of the year, while the endless stream of Durango leaks are, if nothing else, doing a hell of a job of keeping Microsoft’s next console at the forefront of gamers’ minds. Can Sony afford to let 2012 expire without revealing something about PlayStation 4? What do you think?
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Naw, i think Sony will be fine the ps3 is strong….im not sure we’ve seen the full capacity of this console….so i don’t think ps4 should be revealed until a game comes and pushes the ps3 to its full limit. i also don’t think 2012 is time for xbox to reveal its Durango………i mean 360′s and games still sell reasonably well..and even though the ps3 has more power graphics….that has not really stopped the momentum of the xbox…and as much as i love Nintendo id wait to see what the wii u can fully do before id say other companies think about releasing consoles. like, Nintendo has to really come out with some titles and show us the power of this system….and hopefully Wii U won’t be another Dreamcast cause Nintendo is Essential to the console make i say. and even if you hate Nintendo…You do not want a console market where only playstation and microsoft exist….or even just 1 of them….that would be a bad situation.
Uncharted 3 and Killzone 3 are said to have pushed the PS3 to its limits..
(Tretton, not Trenton.) I hope Sony sticks to its guns on this one. I think it’s still too soon for the next generation to kick off. Just because Nintendo’s releasing their next console soon doesn’t mean everyone’s gotta follow suit. Nintendo’s really just catching up technologically. The only reason you’d need to release something new is to implement a touchscreen thing, which could easily be addressed with a peripheral, and/or Vita cross-functionality.
^ +1
Well said. I hope they don’t cave in to the pressure and announce the PS4 at the end of the year for a late 2013 early 2014 release….
15 fps says its been push far enough. ill be getting a wiiu simply because of the 30~60fps jump and a controller that allow real fps action. if sony keeps the ps3 then they could be trying to pull a wii or ps2 and use a weaker yet cheaper system to beat the competition with. any one that knows pc tech knows you are not going to get too much faster than the wii u with out a huge premium. on top of it it this would be the first sony system to luanch without a format war. sony is even loosing talent to Nintendo. with third party support now nintendo could be pretty much unstoppable. they have prefected the game play on their key franchises and are establiahing a huge rpg presents.
sonys only choice is to play follow the leader. the new tech is only going to get better lighing operations and polygon optimizations.better shaders are a given yet translucency is still an issue for most gpus.
could the hype that sony has been peddling finally be hurting sony? hype along wont win next gen games will. sony better get on the ball because next xbox and the wiiu will be the tandem port machines while now you will have to fight nextgen hd Nintendo franchises. could sony be signally they will skip a gen? its possible since there is not much new tech to tout.
Honestly I think its to early overall for a ps4 to comte out. I can see it close to an appropriate tim for the next xbox system to come out, as I don’t see it improving TOO much compared to the ps3. Example, killzone 2 and uncharted 2 both look FAR better imo than any current 360 exclusive title. Even though both are somewhat old, killzone 2 being pretty old in terms of games.
Also the Vita just came out, and the ps3 is still strong so I’d like to see more emphasis on he Vita/ps3 this year.
As a side note, if they would like to have the unreal engine 4 running fully on the next xbox/ps system, I will have NO qualms about waiting an extra 2 or even 3 years. Take the Good Samaritan(spelling?) Demo for instance. If they wait another 2 or 3 years for the next xbox/ps system, but they are EASILY abile to ahndle real time graphics like that, at 1080p native, 60fps(120fps?) Then by all means, TAKE THE FEW YEARS!!!!!
They will be screwed. Microsoft knows this and will more than likely make their focus on the next gen system. If Sony decides to release their system a year after Microsoft they will get the same results. Consumers would have already soaked their money into the first system and will buy the second when they can get around to it or not at all. I still think at the moment the Playstation 3 is the better system, but if Microsoft releases first then I will be purchasing that. As most of the titles are made for both systems and the PS exclusives are somewhat bland in comparison to those for the X box. Again, I am a big fan of the PS3, I have one in my living room and my bedroom, but with both having bluray now and potentially the same processing power I will go with whoever releases first.