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.
