Hirai: PS4 is first and foremost a video game console

PS4 may be a multimedia device, but Sony is keen to highlight that gaming remains very much at the forefront of its offer.

"The most important thing we need to do is agree and understand that the PS4 is a great video game console that appeals to video gamers," Sony president and CEO Kaz Hirai told the D11 conference, as reported by The Verge.

"If we miss that part, I don’t think we get the initial establishment of the console. That formula has worked for us with all our consoles, including the PS3.

"Providing other non-game content is an area we will reveal and talk about in the coming months, but it’s first and foremost a video game console."

It’s easy to interpret this as a response to the widespread criticism of Xbox One which, much to the ire of observers, placed the console’s integrated TV functionality at the forefront of the machine’s recent reveal.

Bear in mind that Microsoft has consistently said that next month’s E3 will be a purely gaming-focused showcase for the new hardware.