It’s Official: Sony Is Working on the PlayStation 4

Though Sony still has big plans for the future of the PlayStation 3, a new console is currently in the works, reports Eurogamer. Sony Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Masaru Kato stated that a new console was indeed being developed by the PlayStation company. Don't take this to mean that the PlayStation 3's days are numbered, though.

The big reveal was made during a financial call, and Kato was quick to say that in the console business, moving forward is always key. The PlayStation 3 will still be Sony's main home console for the foreseeable future. "For the home equipment the PS3 still has a product life," said Kato, "but this is the platform business, so for the future platform–when we'll be introducing what product I cannot discuss–but our development work is already under way, so the costs are incurred there."

It's interesting that Kato went so far as to mention that work on the "PlayStation 4" was already under way, especially considering Sony President Kaz Hirai claimed the exact opposite. When discussing Sony's future in the console space back in March, Hirai stressed that a new home console was not something that Sony was "even debating right now." According to the Sony president, the PlayStation 3 has yet to reach the halfway point of its console life.

I like Sony, but I find it interesting that they decided to talk about a PlayStation 4 console at this time. Back when Nintendo was heavily promoting the Wii prior to launch, Sony jumped to unveil the SIXAXIS, which ultimately failed as a concept. Now, just a short time after Nintendo confirms a successor to the Wii, Sony is discussing a new platform. I love knowing about new consoles, and I enjoy Sony's products, but they try to steal the spotlight when their competitors get attention. Perhaps they should have waited until E3 to let fans know that they were working on a new console that could be expected to launch in about six years or so.