Sony PlayStation 3 Still Has 5 More Years, Says Hirai

Sony exec Kazuo Hirai has once again said that the PlayStation 3 game console would live out its projected 10-year lifespan, staying on store shelves for another 5 years. However, rumors have been circling that the company has been working on a next-gen console, which could be unveiled at this year's E3 conference.

Early last year, Hirai was asked a similar question and had reinforced the point that the PlayStation 3 would be here to stay until its end of life. Although not confirmed, it also doesn't necessarily mean that the company would wait another five years to introduce the PlayStation 4. Recent reports suggest that Sony could do something similar to Nintendo, which plans to release the Wii U while keeping the original Wii on the market.

Hirai doesn't reveal any hints about a PlayStation 4, but emphasizes the importance of still having dedicated home-based consoles. He said that it's not possible to fully rely on networks to deliver the amount of data contained on game disks with it being still very difficult to have consumers download 50 gigabytes of data or more.

Whereas last year, the company was focused on launching the NGP, which turned out to be the PS Vita, this year's been more quiet on the gaming front. Hirai says that the company needs to focus on turning around its money-losing TV manufacturing business. In a separate interview, Sony CEO Howard Stringer said that the company is even considering developing exclusive shows or its devices.

[via Bloomberg]