It was back in April when we learned Nintendo was planning to reveal the Wii 2 at next months E3 2011 with a product release sometime in 2012. We also learned that Microsoft had begun hiring a development team to design the Xbox 360’s successor. It was only a matter time before Sony decided to get in on the game too.
The PS3 has been a strong seller but Sony and other platform developers understand winning the market is about more than just good titles but having new and exciting technologies to offer customers. During a company investment meeting two days ago Sony’s Executive VP and COO Masaru Kato was asked to explain why the company is incurring large development and research costs. He explained that “…we have the NGP to launch later this year. So we have development expenses to be incurred for this product.” But was Sony really just spending money on their new hand-held console or were they developing something more substantial like a full platform release? His next statement would prove the later true.
“For the home console, the PS3 still has a product life, but this is a platform business, so for the future platform – when we will introduce the product I cannot discuss – but development work is underway, so the costs are incurred there.”
So there you have it. Sony is aware of their competitors movements and they understand that the PS3 is still a strong product as were the PSX and the PS2 but they realize the hardened truth. In the end it’s about who releases the newest and latest technologies and who does it the quickest may inevitably win the platform wars. This isn’t a full fledged confirmation but it is clear that development of the PS3’s successor is underway as are the developments of the Xbox 360’s successor and the Wii 2 at their respective companies. Time will tell who will win. But rest assured Sony is itching to hit the finish line first and get ahead of an already crowded field.
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