No PS4; Probably Until 2016

[Diminished]

Don't expect a next-generation PlayStation console to appear this year. Sony executive deputy president Kazuo Hirai dashed hopes that the company will unveil a PlayStation 4 this year at E3, or elsewhere.Hirai, who heads up Sony's consumer electronics and video game divisions, told the Wall Street Journal that the company believes the PlayStation 3 is a product with a 10-year life span. Sony launched the PS3 in 2006, so by that logic, the company won't produce a new PlayStation for another four years.Hirai's words corroborated previous comments from Andrew House, head of Sony's video game business, who recently said there won't be a PlayStation 4 reveal at E3.Speaking to reporters at CES on Tuesday, Hirai said:"[House] is absolutely right in that we are not making any announcements at E3."Sony said it plans to continue to ride on the strength of the PS3, which is the number-one gaming console in 100 countries, the WSJ noted. Last April, total sales of the PlayStation 3 hit 50 million units worldwide.Sony is also preparing for the U.S. launch of its new touch-screen handheld, the PlayStation Vita (see PCMag's hands on), which goes on sale on Feb. 22. The device launched in Japan in December. While House said Vita sales have already soared past half a million, there are reports that demand for the Vita is lagging in the country.A Japanese research firm claimed that after the PlayStation Vita's first week sales of approximately 324,859 units, the numbers took a dive, falling to 72,479 units in the second week.For more from Sony, see PCMag's

highlights from CEO Howard Stringer's keynote

at CES Monday night.

Source: Sony: No PlayStation 3 Successor in 2012 | News & Opinion | PCMag.com