I think most of us are hoping the PS4 is still a long ways off, but that won't stop Sony from conducting the appropriate research.
We've already heard whispers of the new PlayStation and it seems we'll be seeing a bit more in the way of news and details in 2010. According to Kotaku citing Japanese website PC Watch, Sony is apparently "looking to alternatives to the PS3's Cell architecture," and a few early ideas have included the Cell and Intel's Larrabee. Sony passed on this latter concept because they want "a bit more horsepower," and they might now be working on new designs featuring a multicore CPU. At this point, most analysts don't believe we'll see the next Xbox or PlayStation until 2012, although Nintendo may release a high-definition version of the Wii before then. Thing is, it takes a while to design and ultimately produce a brand new machine and besides, consumers do need some time to acclimatize themselves to each new generation. Sony continues to insist that the PS3 will have a 10-year-lifespan but of course, the PS3 could stick around for quite a while after the PS4 arrives. Just look at the PS2.
Whatever they decide to do with the next PlayStation, Sony should never forget that their popular brand name has been built with the excellent software that has been available for their consoles. Oh, we shouldn't worry...they haven't forgotten yet, anyway.
