Sony hints at PlayStation 4 development

Sony is investing significant sums of research funds on a new hardware system, the company has said.

The firm’s chief financial officer, Masaru Kato, yesterday explained to investors that "future platform" development was the reason for Sony’s spike in R&D costs.

This claim has spun rumours that the so-called PlayStation 4 project is at early stages of development.

A spokesperson for the company declined to comment on the matter when approached by Develop.

Sony has always said that its current flagship home console, the PlayStation 3, would be supported by internal game studios for some ten years.

Now, about five years into the current hardware cycle, Kato explains that future platforms are on the agenda.

"The PS3 still has a product life," he said in an investment meeting, as quoted by Eurogamer.

"But this is a platform business… so for the future platform… our development work is already underway, so the R&D costs are incurred there."

He said he could not specify which platform he was discussing in regards to these costs.

Signs point to PlayStation 4 development, though Kato could nevertheless be referring to other new technologies, or even Sony’s next platform, the NGP.