No PS4 ‘for quite some time’

Sony has again stated that it has no immediate plans for the launch of a console successor to PS4.

"PlayStation 3 is really just hitting its stride," SCEA CEO Jack Tretton told Forbes. "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 also refuted any claims that Nintendo’s Wii U will force Sony into an earlier move than expected.

"I think there’s ground to be carved out for everybody," he added. "But 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’.

"Our attitude is kind of ‘welcome to the party’. If you’re looking at being a multimedia entertainment device, if you’re looking at high def gaming, that was 2006 for us."

On the face of it the statement conflicts with recent comments from a Sony financial officer claiming that the company "is working on a future platform”. However, any large consumer tech firm will always be engaged in next-gen R&D. This should not be misconstrued as new product announcements.