The Japanese language printing of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper wrote on Wednesday that based on the latest rumors and murmurs in the video game industry, it was predicting Sony to release the PlayStation 4 console sometime before the end of 2013, and at a price of more than 40,000 yen (approx. $427). Sony has already sent out invitations to the media for a PlayStation Meeting event on February 20th, where many expect the successor to the PS3 will be announced, however this is the first such report to predict the new game console’s launch within the year, as opposed to sometime in 2014.
In reference to the upcoming announcement this mont, the Asahi wrote that “it has become clear that Sony Computer Entertainment will release its new video game console within the year.” The PlayStation 3 was first launched in 2006, and with the release of Nintendo’s next-generation console, the Wii U, last November, the next system from Sony, as well as the successor to Microsoft’s Xbox 360, have been widely expected to be announced in the first half of 2013, with releases sometime in 2014 the most likely. Launching the PS4 before the end of this year seems somewhat unlikely, with speculation of its existence only becoming concrete in the last few months, and no official confirmation from Sony. However, the February 20th press event could very well be lifting of the curtain on the hardware, along with games to unveiled in the weeks to follow, so a release in Japan before 2014 certainly isn’t impossible.
The Japanese newspaper continues that the PS4′s price “will exceed 40,000 yen,” which is certainly a no-brainer as the cheapest model of the PS3 was sold in 2006 at a price of 49,980 ($535) in Japan, and $500 in North America. Asahi‘s report also briefly mentioned that Sony is rushing to meet the expected demand for the game console in Japan and the U.S., however there was no mention of Europe, which also a number of delays for the PS3 due to hardware shortages.
[via VG 24/7]