Reading an interview with Kotaku wherein they asked Sony's President Jack Koller why Sony came in third this gen ( http://kotaku.com/5917483/we-asked-sony-why-did-you-wind-up-in-third-place?utm_campaign=socialflow_kotaku_facebook&utm_source=kotaku_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow )  (Sony will come in 2nd this gen when all is said and done), and it becomes pretty apparent what Sony's plans for next gen will most likely be: 

John Koller said:   "I think when you look at what the PS3 offers, it's extremely powerful and it's one that core gamers really gravitate to. And that's something that's been really gratifying to us in many ways. If you look at games that are coming, like the Last of Us, those are experiences you don't get on other platforms. From an experience standpoint, I think there's really only one place to be right now and that's the PS3."

So, Sony, unlike Nintendo that oftentimes seems ashamed of the core gamers on their consoles by not striving to deliver to them the newest and latest and best new core ips like Sony ( the only other new core ip that isn't a multiplat game from this gen that rivals Sony's accomplishments with their many new core ips is Microsoft's "Gears of War", so Sony has introduced 5 to 6 spectacular new ips this gen "Uncharted", "Heavy Rain", "Resistance", "Little Big Planet", "The Last of Us", and the "God of War" and "Killzone" ips have come into their own this gen versus only one new series of any merit for Microsoft since Halo and no new franchises  from Nintendo in forever);  It's apparent that Sony is proud to be the core, mature, and cinematic gaming afcianado's console of choice and will continue to strive to be that next gen.

And Koller also says:  " When asked about Sony's future hardware, he said, "I think, if you look back again on history we've never been first, we've never been cheapest. It's about being the best. And I think if you can build a better machine and it's going to come out a little bit later, that's better than rushing something to market that's going to run out of gas for the long term. I think, ideally, in a perfect world, you want the best machine that ships first, that's cheapest. But the number one goal is to be the best machine, and that's what we're always focused on."

Sony is striving to deliver the very best console technology wise that they can next gen.  And one that's not just a stepup from the current gen like Nintendo's Wii U.  They will deliver a powerful console again next gen just like this gen.  It probably won't cost $600.00 at launch like PS3 as Sony seems to learn from their mistakes as one can see from the Vita's launch and more than likely it won't cost any more than one hundred dollars more than Wii U at launch ( again look at the example of Vita versus 3DS); however, it will be a very noticiable upgrade over the Wii U which will make Wii U look technology wise much like the 360 and PS3 made the Wii look this gen more or less like an advanced console from the previous gen.

Sony will be able to bring this powerful console to the market at an affordable price because unlike Nintendo they won't have to worry about having a $150.00 to $200.00 controller in their console's package since most of the Wii U's features will either be able to be pulled off by the Vita or a future iteration of the Vita working in combination with the PS4 if the dual screen approach to console gaming becomes popular enough to warrant Sony's working that feature into their next console.

The only thing they need to do is make sure that it is much easier to program for than the Playstation 3 when it comes to multiplatform games.

Launch Date:  Holiday 2013.  I know there wasn't any discussion of it during Sony's E3 Press Conferencee; however, there wasn't any discussion of Vita at the Sony's 2011 Press Conference, and it made it out ( in Japan at least ) in time for the 2012 holiday.

Best means not only games, but in all types of entertainment, which Sony excels at, good luck.

399. That's all I want to hear.

I can't tell if this was sarcasm or not.. :P

I'm glad Sony is starting to solidify its stance in the market, but at the same time I wonder if solidifying themselves is a good thing or a detriment to future expansion and growth. They're being backed up against the wall by other tech companies as different medias fuse together, and Sony seems to be trying very hard to solidify a niche market for themselves. I hope that's the right direction to go.

I see from this article that Sony is reiterating the "Our portable system can connect to the PS3 and do exactly what the Wii U tablet does, so we win!" argument. It... it doesn't work like that. I genuinely hope Sony understands this and is just spouting this as PR fluff.

That was my own thought on the matter.  And, I really think that all this, "It doesn't work like that stuff" is Nintendo fanboys' attempt to stave off the inevitable.  As obviously the Vita or a second version of it, much as with Microsoft's Smart Glass, would be fully capable of doing anything Nintendo's Wii U controller could.

Except there's a world of difference between using a separate, $300 system as a controller with the handful of games that support it vs. a tablet controller that is included with a system, and which the system is built around.

It really doesn't work like that.

The problem with that is the Vita doesn't cost $300.00 and the Wii U might be built around the Wii U tablet, but future iterations of Vita will be built around PS3 and 4, so it can work like that.

Not unless Sony intends to bundle the Vita with the PS4. Which is one way of getting rid of all that excess Vita stock, I suppose.

I don't really think they're planning on bundling Vita with PS4 as that would drive PS4's price up to $600.00, since Sony's going to be selling a much stronger console than Wii U for $400.00; however, it would kind of be like Nintendo's plan to sell a $200 console with the $200 Wii U controller packed in the box at $300.00 later this year and taking a $100 loss on each console.

Do you have a source for that Wii U controller cost? Because I don't think that thing with its low quality DS style screen is going to cost them more than $50 to produce.