Planning ahead

Likeable industry analyst Michael Pachter believes that Sony will release the next PlayStation console in October or November of next year. The chatty Wedbush Securities employee told the latest issue of PLAY magazine that he doesn’t believe the platform holder “wants to launch behind Microsoft again”.

He added: "It isn't likely that they will launch earlier, as it doesn't make sense to get out too far in front of software, and I'm pretty confident that few developers have been working on PS4 games for more than a year or so. Holiday 2013 will be a comfortable window for Sony, and will give them a chance to get a head start on Microsoft."

Despite the imminent arrival of the next generation, Pachter reckons that the PlayStation 3 will continue to sell. "The PS3 probably has a solid three years left for sales, so it should make it comfortably to a 10-year life span," he said. "There are a lot of people who are uncomfortable spending $250 for a console, so I think price cuts to the $199, $149 and $99 will extend the life of the console."

We've been hearing rumours about the PS4 – or Orbis as it's known internally – for a while now. The most recent spate of speculation suggested that the console would be announced at an event prior to E3 next year.

[source nowgamer.com]