I'd feel like there are plenty of good PS3 games to keep me happy well into PS4's life and I shouldn't need to get a PS4 until it gets down to $350 (NZD).

Unless it launches with Jak 4. Then I'd be pissed off, and sorely tempted at the same time.

Sony has the least reason of any of the three to announce a new console at this point in time, so I would guess that I would feel like they're jumping the gun a bit.

On the other hand both Nintendo and Microsoft need new consoles.

Nintendo to bring their tech up to par so developers might consider putting versions of the big Western third party titles on there and so that what their console offers in core games can be comparable to the core offerings on the other consoles.

And Microsoft because their sales are stagnating with 360 due to a lack of quality games over the last couple of years and bad pr from the rrod issue.

Both need blu-ray as its becoming the standard format next year while dvds like cassettes and cds before them will be being pulled out of stores.

I don't think they are willing to shoot the other foot.

Q4 2012 at the earliest.

I'd say NO WAY!

It would make no sense...

And i'd feel sorry for them: how many billions did they already lose in the last three years?

The Blue-Ray has a very limited success, and the PS3 profits can't compare to the old PS2 profits, both on the hardware and the software side... PSP is not an important factor, and if they release an (even more powerful) PS4, no dev in this world will take the risks to do even more expensive games, for an even more limited userbase...

Plus, the consumers would feel cheated, not so long after the release of a PS3 Slim and a brand new controller that won't have the time to (finally) become real success... a very bad idea all the way...

This would simply mean that Sony's gaming division is commiting suicide...

And then, the situation would be quite clear: one american console vs one japanese console, Microsoft vs Nintendo...

The american console would have nearly all the western games, plus some of the best japanese games, and the japanese console would have all the japanese games, plus some of the best western games... and any gamer will have a good choice, and will even have the possibility to easily afford both, to be able to play any of the best games on the market...

It's a win-win situation, and an even more competitive market than a 3 consoles race... and it would also be easier to manage cross-platform games for anyone in the industry... so why not...

In fact, it would then mean: back to the old Nintendo vs Sega, but this time with an american opponent with its usual monopolistic agenda, on the PC scene just as on the console scene...

No need to say which console i'll buy then, as anyway, japanese games have always been my favourites, and i don't trust anyone with a collection of "red rings of death" plus a monopolistic agenda... :)

I would be pretty damn excited

I was expecting the PS4 in 2012 anyway

It would be cool because it is a new system but I would be mad because they should put their focus on the PS3 instead.
It's not going to happen so it's nothing to worry about.

"meh"

You can not go by years on the market to determine when is the right time for a new generation. The HD consoles are still at the $300 price point. Way too early to get the next consoles out there. This generation is going to be abnormally long (more than the standard 5-6 years). The PS2 reached the $200 price point very quickly and even if you take into account inflation, that is a good deal cheaper than $300 now. And it took the PS360 awhile to get to $300 (Of course theres the Core/Arcade sku debuting at $300 but that's a very barebones experience. I'm not even sure you can hold all your game saves on the Arcade 256mb memory unit, let alone the 64 mb or whatever you had with the core. And these memory units are much more expensive than PS2 memory cards are.)

i would be fucking pissed and not buy it and might stop playing ps3 !!! cause then every body would have ps4 and i won't be able to afford it