PS4 To Launch In 2013-2014 According To E3 2012 Rumors

This is a PlayStation 4 roundup of all the latest rumors and facts. The goal here is to show when Sony’s PS4 is expected to launch and what exciting new technologies it may include at release!

The PS4 Rumors:

Rumor #1. MCV’s online editor Ben Parfitt said third-party publishing sources claim Sony had signaled to partners the PlayStation 4 will be shown at E3 2012, which is usually done 1-2 years in advance of launch to give PS4 games development time until 2013-2014! — After the PS3 hardware was revealed at E3 2005 in May that year, it took Sony 1.5 years to eventually launch it in November 2006. Please continue reading the Sony section below to find out why an official reveal is significant to the release timeline.

To quote: “Obviously we can’t reveal our sources. But you have my personal word on this – the source is exemplary, 100% concrete, ultra high level.”

Rumor #2. Editor-in-Chief Michael French said Execs at the PlayStation firm have made it clear to third-parties that they will not be left behind this time. But Execs aren’t expecting price or launch details for the new Xbox or PlayStation at E3 2012 in June.

“Key publishers and developers are expecting some nod towards what direction PS4 will take at E3 this year.” -Sony Sources

To quote: “This is very credible. Even if we don’t see the hardware itself, or know a price or date, key publishers and developers are expecting some nod towards what direction PS4 will take at E3 this year. Sony isn’t stupid – it knows that if Microsoft is planning to also say something about its next console [the Xbox 720], it can’t be left behind.”

Sony’s PS4 Responses:

Reply #1. Sony Computer Entertainment president Andrew House has said Sony are not “contemplating discussing anything to do with future console iterations at this point.” At a Consumer Electronics Show 2012 roundtable, a reporter once again asked the same question House was posed. The soon-to-be Sony President Kaz Hirai was asked if there’d be an announcement about a PlayStation 4 at the E3 2012 show in June.

“We are not making any announcements at E3 2012. I’ve always said a 10-year life cycle for PS3.” -Kaz Hirai

To quote: “Andy [House] is absolutely right in that we are not making any announcements at E3. I’ve always said a 10-year life cycle for PS3, and there is no reason to go away from that.” — Mr. Hirai, who actually appointed Mr. House for his job, claimed Sony aren’t talking about a new home console right now and that the consumer electronics company has no plans to do that at E3 either. Take him literally and he’s saying PS4 won’t come out until 2016 at the earliest.

In fact, back when Nintendo’s Wii U was announced Sony President and CEO Jack Tretton told Forbes their reaction to that console coming out in 2012: “I think there’s ground to be carved out for everybody. But I didn’t see anything about Nintendo’s announcement that said ‘Oh, we’d better get working on rolling out a new PlayStation here pretty soon.’ Our attitude is kind of ‘welcome to the party.’ If you’re looking at being a multimedia entertainment device, if you’re looking at high def gaming, that was 2006 for us.

PlayStation 3 Console PlayStation 3 is really just hitting its stride. 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.”

Reply #2. Sony Computer Entertainment’s executive VP of technology and CTO, Masaaki Tsuruta, spoke at the International Electron Devices Meeting in Washington DC where he said Sony’s focus for its next gaming projects are at. These include hints to a few directions that will define what PS4 has to offer:

  • Advanced semiconductor research. Although he didn’t clarify between technologies Sony intends to implement in its next PlayStation and those it is only experimenting with. Hardware innovation is needed to realize Sony’s evolving vision of ‘Interactive Games’, but regardless, other elements could be added later via peripherals.
  • Super HD displays. The machine, with display resolutions between 4K and 8K with frame rates over 300FPS, and with new silicon designs allowing for a low latency response for highly immersive games to less than 50ms. If you’re worried this is too far off, apparently “existing technologies could be incrementally enhanced to deliver some of [Sony’s] plans relatively soon.”
  • Haptic technology. He said “What we have today is solely based on vibration.” This new tech is able to replicate sensations “as specific as stroking a cat”, taking feedback way beyond simple vibration and resistance.
  • Reading emotions is the ultimate goal of the PS4. The haptic tech automatically leads to the console increasing the amount of data it senses from players. The aim is to have the console read a user’s vital signs, body heat, and facial expressions!
  • Augmented Reality via 3D Glasses. A version of Augmented Reality delivered via see-through 3D glasses, as a lightweight stereoscopic head-up display. The problem with this idea so far is that “real-time graphics processing locally on a headset and to accurately position virtual truly-3D figures in a dynamically changing environment.”

To give you an idea what next-generation of games will look like, here’s the real-time demo of Epic’s Samaritan.

Here’s Haptic Feedback technology being demoed at CES 2012, it explains how it can add a tactile feel to surfaces.

Sources: MCV, Wall Street Journal, Forbes & E&T

What do you want from the PS4?