Sony’s Tretton: Talking PS4 would distract us

Sony Computer Entertainment America chief Jack Tretton believes internal discussions on the PlayStation 4 would be an untimely distraction from more pressing business matters.

Amid conflicting rumours that Sony would go public with its PlayStation 4 plan either this year or next, Tretton said “I, quite frankly, would be very distracted if I had to be talking about next generation hardware this year”.

His comments in an interview with IGN follows similar comments made by Sony’s incoming CEO Kaz Hirai, who insisted there would be no PlayStation 4 announcements at the major trade event E3.

Elaborating on Sony’s position, Tretton said next-gen decisions “really depend on the health of the existing platform and the other things you have going on".

"Right now, we’re focused on PlayStation 3, and I’ve got another platform (PlayStation Vita) to get out the door in seven days, so I don’t want to be thinking about trying to launch new technology anytime soon,” he added.

“I want to focus all our energy on our console business, which is really just hitting its stride, and Vita, which really deserves a dedicated push from us."

Develop understands that several Sony studios are working on early PlayStation prototype games.