Rumors and speculation of the PlayStation 4's release date can be found floating around all corners of the Internet, and they all seem to point to a 2013 release. If this were to be true then we could surely expect a shortage of Sony PlayStation 3 exclusive titles in 2013.If two years ago you would have asked an industry analysts when they'd predict the release of the next generation PlayStation gaming console they would have confidently replied with "no sooner than late 2014". However, the Wii U seems to be the big, and quite literal, game changer. The release of the Wii U has got many people prepared, and even looking forward, for the next generation gaming consoles.
Sony took a rather devastating sales hit by launching the PlayStation 3 on the 23rd of March, 2007--well after both Wii and the Xbox 360; the Xbox 360 officially launched in Europe on the 2nd of December, 2005, and the Wii launced on the 8th of December, 2006. (; the average consumer had already migrated into the next generation. It also didn't help that the PlayStation 3 launched prematurely and lacked more than half of the features that Microsoft's Xbox 360 had at launch.
If anything, the sales figures of the Wii U prove that most consumers are ready to take the leap to the next generation of console gaming entertainment. Unfortunately, that means that those who aren't will be left in the dark. Although Sony have already announced two AAA titles, Beyond: Two Souls and Last Of Us, for the PlayStation 3, these games are new intellectual properties and therefore don't belong to a certain established gaming franchise, this means that the PlayStation 3 just might miss out on PlayStation's next big hitting franchise sequels such as Uncharted, Killzone, and God of War (God of War: Ascension cannot be considered a proper sequel to the franchise). It is also interesting to note that each of these franchises is up to its fourth installment, and they just might be reserved as PlayStation 4 launch titles.
The PlayStation 3 has been nothing short of a financial disaster for Sony. Its climb to the top was a slow and rather painful one, possibly even too slow. Despite its excellent line up of quality exclusive AAA titles, the PlayStation 3 has struggled to reach Xbox 360 sale figures. It is pivotal for Sony Computer Entertainment's success in the gaming industry that they launch the PlayStation 4 ahead of Microsoft's next Xbox, and with an arsenal of AAA launch titles. Otherwise we just might see the PlayStation go the way of the Dreamcast.
