Post by stepheno1683 on Jul 4, 2011 16:31:53 GMT -5
www.1up.com/news/playstation-4-with-kinect-motion-controls-coming-212
Unlikely as it may seem, a new report pegs 2012 as the release year for Sony's next home console, the PlayStation 4.
A DigiTimes report today says Taiwanese component makers have indicated PlayStation 4 production will begin towards the end of 2011 with the goal of having the system ready to ship sometime in 2012. Not only that, but the system will feature "movement based control," which is compared with the Xbox 360's Kinect, when it goes on sale next year. Two PlayStation 3 manufacturers, Pegatron Technology and Foxconn, are said to be assuming their roles once again for the PS4. Upwards of 20 million PS4 units are planned to be shipped in 2012.
Given all we've heard about Sony's ten-year life cycle and extending the current generation of consoles, it's difficult to believe this is true. One previous report pegged new Microsoft and Sony consoles as likely coming in 2014, or possibly 2013. Nintendo is already planning to release the Wii U next year, and the expectation has been that the company would have one to two years before facing any new competition.
There have been rumors that an Xbox 360 successor was already in the hands of EA and a supposed Crytek source said the system would likely be revealed by next year's E3 in June. Both of those claims have been denied by the respective parties. But while there has at least been talk of a new Microsoft box, there has been very little said about an impending PS4.
Sony CEO Howard Stringer suggested last month that PS4 was still fairly far off.
"PlayStation 3 is really just hitting its stride," he said. "And technologically, I don't think it's possible to provide any advancement beyond what we have. What we've seen from the competition is trying to add features that already exist in PlayStation 3. We invested heavily in that, we rolled a very heavy rock up a steep hill, through the launch period. But now I think that all pays off, and we've got a long run way behind it. So, I wouldn't look for any discussion of a next generation PlayStation for quite some time."
He also added, "I didn't see anything about Nintendo's [Wii U] announcement that said 'Oh, we'd better get working on rolling out a new PlayStation here pretty soon.'"
There were about six years between the release of PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3, and nearly two years between PlayStation Portable and PS3. This November will mark five years since the release of the PS3, and with Vita's launch coming this holiday season through early next year (depending upon where you live), it seems unlikely that another Sony system would be launched so soon after.
Even if it was released at the end of 2012, that would be a year-long gap at most. Nintendo, meanwhile, will have a gap of somewhere around 13 and 22 months between the releases of 3DS and Wii U. (The latter has yet to be given a release date.) One key difference between the companies to keep in mind is Nintendo's insistence upon making money right out of the gate with its hardware sales, whereas Sony has traditionally taken a hit with early hardware sales. That makes launching two pieces of hardware in a short span of time a tricky proposition, not to mention a curious one given that Sony has seen some traction with PS3 hardware sales since the launch of the PS3 Slim -- something that will continue should a price drop be announced next month, as is rumored to be happening.
As for Kinect-style motion controls, that wouldn't come as a huge shock. Sony's initial motion control offering this generation was its Sixaxis controller. It has since shifted its efforts to the Wii remote-inspired PlayStation Move. Microsoft went from having no motion control to the controller-free Kinect, which is fundamentally similar to the PS2's EyeToy. Given Sony's experience with the EyeToy, it's likely capable of making hands-free controls work, but it would fly in the face of what it's been saying to push Move over Kinect -- that buttons are necessary and you can only do so much without them.
The 20-million-shipped number implies that Sony would be launching the system in more markets than just Japan in 2012. That doesn't really help to peg a release date, as Sony could very well decide to launch in multiple markets in the same window, as it did with the PS3.
Sony has yet to comment on the report as of yet, though don't count on hearing much more than the usual "no comment" spiel.
Unlikely as it may seem, a new report pegs 2012 as the release year for Sony's next home console, the PlayStation 4.
A DigiTimes report today says Taiwanese component makers have indicated PlayStation 4 production will begin towards the end of 2011 with the goal of having the system ready to ship sometime in 2012. Not only that, but the system will feature "movement based control," which is compared with the Xbox 360's Kinect, when it goes on sale next year. Two PlayStation 3 manufacturers, Pegatron Technology and Foxconn, are said to be assuming their roles once again for the PS4. Upwards of 20 million PS4 units are planned to be shipped in 2012.
Given all we've heard about Sony's ten-year life cycle and extending the current generation of consoles, it's difficult to believe this is true. One previous report pegged new Microsoft and Sony consoles as likely coming in 2014, or possibly 2013. Nintendo is already planning to release the Wii U next year, and the expectation has been that the company would have one to two years before facing any new competition.
There have been rumors that an Xbox 360 successor was already in the hands of EA and a supposed Crytek source said the system would likely be revealed by next year's E3 in June. Both of those claims have been denied by the respective parties. But while there has at least been talk of a new Microsoft box, there has been very little said about an impending PS4.
Sony CEO Howard Stringer suggested last month that PS4 was still fairly far off.
"PlayStation 3 is really just hitting its stride," he said. "And technologically, I don't think it's possible to provide any advancement beyond what we have. What we've seen from the competition is trying to add features that already exist in PlayStation 3. We invested heavily in that, we rolled a very heavy rock up a steep hill, through the launch period. But now I think that all pays off, and we've got a long run way behind it. So, I wouldn't look for any discussion of a next generation PlayStation for quite some time."
He also added, "I didn't see anything about Nintendo's [Wii U] announcement that said 'Oh, we'd better get working on rolling out a new PlayStation here pretty soon.'"
There were about six years between the release of PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3, and nearly two years between PlayStation Portable and PS3. This November will mark five years since the release of the PS3, and with Vita's launch coming this holiday season through early next year (depending upon where you live), it seems unlikely that another Sony system would be launched so soon after.
Even if it was released at the end of 2012, that would be a year-long gap at most. Nintendo, meanwhile, will have a gap of somewhere around 13 and 22 months between the releases of 3DS and Wii U. (The latter has yet to be given a release date.) One key difference between the companies to keep in mind is Nintendo's insistence upon making money right out of the gate with its hardware sales, whereas Sony has traditionally taken a hit with early hardware sales. That makes launching two pieces of hardware in a short span of time a tricky proposition, not to mention a curious one given that Sony has seen some traction with PS3 hardware sales since the launch of the PS3 Slim -- something that will continue should a price drop be announced next month, as is rumored to be happening.
As for Kinect-style motion controls, that wouldn't come as a huge shock. Sony's initial motion control offering this generation was its Sixaxis controller. It has since shifted its efforts to the Wii remote-inspired PlayStation Move. Microsoft went from having no motion control to the controller-free Kinect, which is fundamentally similar to the PS2's EyeToy. Given Sony's experience with the EyeToy, it's likely capable of making hands-free controls work, but it would fly in the face of what it's been saying to push Move over Kinect -- that buttons are necessary and you can only do so much without them.
The 20-million-shipped number implies that Sony would be launching the system in more markets than just Japan in 2012. That doesn't really help to peg a release date, as Sony could very well decide to launch in multiple markets in the same window, as it did with the PS3.
Sony has yet to comment on the report as of yet, though don't count on hearing much more than the usual "no comment" spiel.
