This + A lot of first party studios have been developing PS4 titles for around a year or over now, PS3 could easily sell along side PS4, Sony has stated they don't want to be late to the generation again, PS4 rumours have been rampant and third party publishers have had the dev kits for a while... the only way I see it coming in 2014 is if it comes in early 2014.

um they are in financial problem when they announced the vita and released it, so that shouldn't be a reason. look at their tvs,cameras,laptops,phones,and more that they are making. they gotta make sure ps4 sells at a profit not at a loss and it will be fine. They cannot sell ps4 at a loss this time.Oh It will not harm ps3 sales. Look at psp and ps2. Psp still sells well even when psp vita is out and ps2 did sell very well in 3+ years of ps3's life and it still sells well at gamestop. 

Why do people think this?

Of course they can sell it at a loss, just not a spastically high loss the PS3 was sold at. $50-100 loss? That's absolutely fine. Think about it like this: jonjon buys his PS4, Sony loses $75 from that. jonjon then buys 10 games, a couple themes, some DLC, maybe subscribes to PS+ or Netflix... etc etc. in the first year of ownership. Basically, SCE easily makes that money back soon because most of their money comes from software, not hardware. The more hardware sells, the more software sells, so it makes sense to take a loss on the hardware so it's cheaper and more people will buy it.

The thing is, the strategy those consoles employed to succeed is definitely not the same as the one the PS4 will be FORCED to use.

Holding off on releasing the PS4 is a much more risky strategy than a lot of people seem to realize ...

If the broader market adopts the Wii U or 'XBox 720' before Sony even launches their system they will be in a similar position to the XBox or Gamecube; and no matter how good of a product they produce they will be destined to mediocre (or worse) sales.

Unless Sony is as arogant as they were at the end of the PS2 generation, their likely move is to release a console in 2013. If they're launching in 2014 or beyond it just seems like hubris, and will end in a very unfortunate way for Sony.

ok i should rephrase that. They can't do what they did with ps3 selling it at a $150+ loss. Selling at a loss of $75 is not bad compared to $150+. Sorry for the confusion. It can't be as high as the ps3 loss is practically what i meant. Sorry i am tired and wanted to write less. I shouldn't do that though

Hmm. Mid 2014 seems plausable due to Sony's finances. I do wonder if it will be far too late. Only time will tell.

I think Sony we will see the PS4 in fall 2014

If they miss 2013, then its head start for MS all over again. Not sure they want that

Plans are as malleable as the future itself. Sony may have intentions, but that doesn't mean that Sony is on anything like a fixed heading. They certainly have a right to arrive to market at any time they feel would be most beneficial to their bottom line. The market itself will define what is possible, and what is reasonable. As will the competition as far as things are concerned. I have explained this before, and I will explain it again. Sony doesn't exist in a vacuum. This shouldn't need to be explained to anyone at this point.

What the market conditions are like. What the competition is doing, and how they are doing it. Hell the overall health of the company itself. All will have an impact on the decision making process at Sony. What Sony is going to be looking for is the position that gives them the greatest competitive edge. That may not be what you as a fan may particularly want. If that means waiting another year Sony will do that. If it means Sony has to wait even a few years Sony will do that. If that means Sony leaves the market then Sony will do that. Sony looks out for Sony, and not for you the fan, or hell your ego for that matter.

That said there are three variables that are going almost entirely ignored in this thread. Which will really dictate how things will play out next generation. One is the more obvious how the economy will fare in the upcoming year. Europe could tip over the edge, and that would have a disastrous impact on the bottom line at Sony. Not only that, but it would have a ripple effect globally. If that happens Sony has a pretty secure position in staying put with their current hardware. Hell such a global economic situation might have Microsoft putting its own plans on hold for a couple years.

Number two is how Nintendo fairs with its new hardware. This could be a real barometer for market demand as far as new hardware is concerned. What will Sony see if Nintendo the previous generations market leader has to struggle mightily to match current hardware, or gasp fares worse then current hardware. They will see what would amount to a fairly toxic environment to launch a console into. In such a case it wouldn't matter all that much to lose to Microsoft as long as they don't have to lose horribly when it came to their ledger.

Number three has to be how powerful Microsoft makes its next console, and the price point that they are willing to launch with. It is easy to say Sony doesn't have to loss lead, or doesn't have to lose all that much. What isn't at all easy to say is that Sony can afford to lose the other wars. The price war, or the value war. If Microsoft matches Sony, but has a much lower retail price that would be a serious problem for Sony. Which holds equally true if the two have price parity, but Microsoft has a machine that is undeniably two to three times more powerful. Sony may not have a choice as far as loss leading is concerned, or they may choose a more logical alternative. Which would be waiting until they could both match and profit.

The important thing that is getting lost in this discussion is that consoles aren't like other electronic products. You can make ten television models, lose on half of them, but win enough on the other half to come ahead. When it comes to consoles how you fare on the first product directly impacts how you will fare on the products attached to it, or what kind of stigma it will have on previous products. For instance if the PS4 fails hard it will actually have a fairly disastrous impact on lingering PS3 sales. Yeah I know it is crazy but the bleed through into the next gen can run both ways.

By the way I think most of you are over gauging the after generation sales of the PS3 by applying how the PS2 did perform early in this generation. We are talking different beasts here. The PS3 doesn't have the largest library in the market by far. It wasn't the lead console this generation, and last but not least. Unless the PS4 is supremely overpriced it will not defer brand loyalists into a holding pattern. It will probably not be the case that people say I am going to buy a PS3 until the PS4 comes down. Consumers will learn from this generation, and instead of just buying a hold off device will simply wait half a year for a price war to take its toll.