To get a good indicator I think that it would be a good idea to look at what Sony did with the PS Vita. They used industry standard components which provided a powerful handheld console at an affordable price. They also went with a standard architecture and away from the exotic ones from the past.
Basically Sony has learnt from their past mistakes and is now working with developers to provide a powerful console which is also easy and hence cheap to develop for. I expect this trend to continue with the PS4 which brings us to my predictions.
1. Sony's next console will be called the PS4 (Safest prediction of all) .
2. RRP $399 for entry level SKU and $449 for premium SKU.
3. Either an upgraded Cell or a 6 core standard processor, a faster Blu-Ray drive with at least 4gig of standard ram and a custom NVidia graphics card. Wifi included in all models with built in harddrive also in both models.
4. I predict the PS4 will be on equal footing with the next Microsoft console when it comes to graphical prowess and will obviously be far more powerful compared to the Wii U.
5. I predict that it will launch end of 13 in Japan and early 14 in the west.
