Last month, Sony executives let slip that the company was beginning preliminary work on the successor to the PlayStation 3. However, this week the man in charge of Sony Computer Entertainment America warned against holding out for new information on the platform--or for the hardware's launch. Speaking with Forbes, SCEA president Jack Tretton said that his company's current console is just getting going.
"PlayStation 3 is really just hitting its stride," said Tretton. "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."
Tretton's comments come just over a week after Sony unveiled its next-generation handheld, the PlayStation Vita, at the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo. That system, which will be offered at $250 and $300 price points in North America, will be Sony's first all-new hardware platform since the PS3 in 2006. It will launch in at least in one territory by the end of the year, according to Sony executives.
However, there is some pressure on Sony to unveil its next-generation plans sooner rather than later. Microsoft has already let slip that it is hiring "next generation" Xbox developers, with major developers letting slip they are already eyeing new console platforms. Also, Nintendo used its E3 press briefing to announce its new console, the Wii U, which will debut after April of next year--a fact that doesn't faze Sony.
"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,'" said Tretton.
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