PlayStation 4: Sony Now Developing ‘Future platform’

Sony said on Thursday that it is working on its next-generation console, which might be called the PlayStation 4, as the life cycle for the PlayStation 3 is starting to dwindle, according to media reports.

Chief Financial Officer Masaru Kato revealed the news in a conference call to investors who asked him to explain the increase in research and development costs, reported Eurogamer.

The company is working on a “future platform” to succeed the PlayStation 3, and development “is already under way,” he said.

“For the home equipment the PS3 still has a product life,” he said, according to the website. “But this is a platform business, so for the future platform - when we'll be introducing what product I cannot discuss that - but our development work is already under way, so the costs are incurred there.”

Its hard to say how far Sony has come in developing their next console, as the PlayStation 3 was released just under five years ago.

The announcement from Kato comes after Nintendo announced last month that it will unveil its next console, which has been called “Project Cafe,” at the E3 2011 convention in June, according to a report from IGN.

“We will show a playable model of the new system and announce more specifications at the E3 Expo, which will be held June 7-9, 2011, in Los Angeles,” Nintendo told the website last month.