Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Jack Tretton has made it abundantly clear this weekend that the PlayStation 4 is not coming any time soon.
Tretton says the PS3 is only “in the first 25% to 30% of this generation,” meaning there is at least 6 more years before a PS4 is sitting on retail shelves.
“I would say we’re sitting in the catbird seat,” Tretton added, via CVG. “We’ve just passed the third year of the PlayStation 3 and we’re just hitting our stride. And I don’t think anyone is saying, ‘This is a five-year cycle; what’s new on the horizon?’ I can’t even imagine what can be done technically beyond the PlayStation 3 in the near future. A question I often get is when we are going to see PlayStation 4. When somebody can craft the technology that exceeds what we’re able to do on the PS3, but we are still just starting to harness it.”
Although not related, Tretton also said he expected God of War III sales to “blot out the sun.”
Result for: lifespan
Sony America has announced that they will be cutting the price of the aging PlayStation 2 console by over 20 percent to $99.99 USD beginning tomorrow.
The company hopes the new deal will help push the lifespan of the console, which has sold almost 140 million units since its launch in late 2000.
The PS2 will now retail for $300 USD less than the cheapest PlayStation 3 model, which analysts and consumers alike agree, needs a price cut. Sony notes however that the company still loses money on every console sold, so a price cut would deepen current losses.
Sony is currently undergoing a major restructuring and is expected to announce their first net loss in 14 years.
Recently, Microsoft product management director Aaron Greenberg slammed Sony over their console sales figures, saying: “What we’re finding in our research is that a large portion of the volume we’re driving with Xbox 360 purchasers is actually PS2 owners choosing Xbox for the next generation. Xbox continues to head north while the PS3 is heading south. We’re gaining share.”
Result for: lifespan
JVC has announced they have finally stopped production on VCR standalone players, marking the end of an era for the now dead format.
There are, of course, still other manufacturers producing combo VHS/DVD players or even combo Blu-ray and VHS players, but JVC was the last to make complete standalone VHS players.
The VCR is 33 years old, and over its lifespan 900 million VCRs were produced, 50 million by JVC.
Thanks for the memories, standalone VCRs.
