These component manufacturer sources tell DigiTimes that the PlayStation 4 will feature body-movement controls like Microsoft’s Kinect. That’s the interesting, if not unexpected, part.
The PS3 currently has PlayStation Move motion controls, which are similar to the Wii’s motion controls.
The report states Foxconn and Pegatron Technology will assemble the PS4 for Sony. Foxconn and Pegatron Technology both assemble the PS3, which was originally manufactured in Japan.
Sources told DigiTimes that the PS4 will go into production at the end of 2011 for a 2012 launch. Apparently Sony will manufacture 20 million PS4 consoles for 2012.
Previously, Kotaku reported that 2014 seems likely for a new Sony or Microsoft console – 2013 if either Sony or Microsoft feels pushed. 2013 seems like a far more realistic date for a new PlayStation 4 than 2012, which is next year.
What’s more, America’s slow economic recovery could make launching after 2012 ultimately more profitable. Also, Sony is releasing its new portable, the PS Vita this year, and the Tokyo-based electronics giant might need a breather between hardware launches.
Taiwan-based component makers tell DigiTimes that the PlayStation 4 will feature body-movement controls like Microsoft’s Kinect.
If DigiTimes‘ sources are correct, Sony could look to get the jump on Microsoft and thwart Nintendo in one fell swoop.
Since the PS3 launched, Sony has touted the machine’s 10 year lifespan. The PS3 launched in 2006, six years into the PS2′s lifespan. Even after the PS3 launched, Sony continued to support the PlayStation 2.
If the PlayStation 4 launches in 2012, that would be six years into the PS3′s lifespan. Sony could continue to support the PS3 as it did with the PlayStation 2.
Kotaku reached out to Sony and will update this post should the company comment.
Sony to start production of PS4 at end of 2011, say Taiwan makers [DigiTimes via Wall Street Journal - Thanks ED!]
Top photo remix: Luke Plunkett/Kotaku
Meepers
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 8:27 PMBad Sony… bad bad bad! Sony, only reason i hate M$ cause of the kinect lol
hopefully it’s not true :(
mattroe
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 10:34 PM“only reason I hate M$ is cause of kinect”
That doesn’t make any sense.
why not
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 11:08 PMit does too.
mattroe
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 12:04 AMOkay…? Care to explain then?
mattroe
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 12:39 AMI’m assuming it’s because Microsoft is so heavily pushing the Kinect.
A) Why would that mean Sony will do the same thing?
B) I’m guessing you’re a PS3 user over a 360 user, so why would a single Microsoft product have such an influence over your opinion of Microsoft?
C) Look up some non-gameplay Kinect videos on YouTube, there’s a reason Microsoft is pushing it.
Gavin
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 12:08 AMhaters gonna hate.
Stevorooni
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 8:31 PMSeems a little too early, they surely would have shown something at this years E3 if they had something ready to go by next year.
Mase
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 8:36 PMNo! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!
I’m done if that’s the case. I’ll forgo the console games and join the PC gamers club if this is the case. PC will be the last safe haven for real gamers.
Bobbit
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 9:24 PMYeah….or you could grow up and realise that in fact there are many types of “real” gamers!! Also, heaven forbid that you might discover that you don’t even have to use the motion control if you prefer. Getting sick of hearing all the moaning about how motion control is killing console gaming when it has in fact had a positive effect. More appeal to new users equals more people buying consoles and games and therefore more money to be used on developing your “real” games.
In short, don’t like it then don’t use it but don’t knock it because you still benefit from it.
Steve0410
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 10:04 PMThis would make sense if the last step had any correlation. It’s the same argument film producers use. You make dumb four-quadrant big budget movies, you get more money flowing into the industry and thus, more movies overall, even for the film buffs and niche demographics.
But it doesn’t work like that. That money goes into studio heads’ pocket and only encourages them to fund more big dumb movies instead of riskier projects, while ‘niche’ fields like the Australian Film industry quietly die a bit more each year.
Ted
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 2:21 AMReal games like COD, haha? Consoles are already casual and motion controls only make things more so. Worst part is the more people move to consoles the more PC games suffer for it.
I miss the old days..
Ben Jones
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 8:26 AM“Consoles are already casual”
lol…. just lol.
Incredible how blatantly naive people can be. All I’m going to say is, go play Demon’s Souls on dark tendency then come back and say the same thing.
WiseHacker
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 2:01 PM“Worst part is the more people move to consoles the more PC games suffer for it”
Oh boy, here we go again with the “PC gaming is suffering because of consoles” myth.
Dude, look at your console. Does it have arms and hands? Is it able to comprehend a book on programming? It is able to be artistic with a design on a piece of paper?
DEVELOPERS are the ones holding back gaming on PCs – not the consoles. In fact there was a time when the limitations of consoles really forced developers to be both technically and creatively wise. Even back in the days of cartridges developers were often creative before calling in the engineers to make custom chips to expand the device playing it.
That aside there is a reason why many are going to consoles – they do not have intrusive DRM prevents most good games from being played by preventing the players from even loading the darn things!
markd
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 4:54 PMIt’s ironic that people that call themselves ‘gamers’ don’t seem to be interested in games at all. If you were a real ‘gamer’ you wouldn’t give a sh*t what hardware something is on, and you would understand there is no such thing as a ‘casual’ game and a ‘hardcore’ game.
WiseHacker
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 7:54 PMHear hear! Like many others, I am of the opinion that if a game is designed properly and well though out the experience is constant even if the game is on a PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, iPhone or even the ol’ Atari 2600.
Take Mass Effect for example. Even if the game was on the Atari 2600 and came on 700 cartridges I would still work out fell because the game is sold on its environment, characters and story.
Dev
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 8:55 PMI wouldn’t be surprised if PS4 also had a touchpad like controller that streams parts of the game to its screen.
dainbramage
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 9:23 PMI bet it’ll also be “significantly more powerful than the PS3″
Chazz
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 8:59 PMSometimes I wonder if Sony and Apple are the same company.
Grandmaster B-Funk
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 9:12 PMi’m gonna call bullshit right here
Allan
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 10:20 PMAbsolutely agree.
Braaains
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 9:15 PMThe only saving grace here is that the 2012 release date has a distinct smell of bullshit about it. And if that’s the case then hopefully the motion control part is also bullshit.
justachap
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 9:34 PMoh great -_-
Cephalxn
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 9:38 PMOh no motion controls that I don’t have to use if I don’t want to!
Grow up guys, already hating a console that isn’t more than a half-formed rumour just because it might have motion controls. In the wise words of Red Forman… “Dumbasses”
Jim Smith
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 9:40 PMNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I hope this is BS….
And 2012? That seems too soon!
Steve0410
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 10:06 PMI hope this is just a rumour but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were true. Sony’s track record of appropriating their competitors’ input methods regardless of whether they work (thumbsticks) or not (Move) is evident enough.
Jake
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 10:20 PMI call this fake. 2012? I highly doubt it. 2013 maybe, but we would have seen something at E3 if it was coming out next year.
mattroe
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 10:33 PMSo after bagging out Kinect for years, labelling the Move as the best use of motion controls in gaming, they’re just straight up copying the Kinect?
Yeah, to be honest, not surprised in the least. Good old Sony.
WiseHacker
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 2:02 PMI do not mean to be rude, but technically Sony thought of it first anyway with the Eye Toy.
Till this day I still do not know why they didn’t just replicate the Eye Toy instead of cross breading it with a WiiMote.
Brimm
Monday, July 4, 2011 at 11:58 PMyeah, nonesense. I very much doubt it’s going to happen as stated in this article…
Brimm
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 12:00 AM…whetever the case, I’m not buying it. Never owned a playstation, never will.
B Boy Rock
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 3:56 AMLies.
plmko
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 4:58 AMI think the only relevance of a “Kinect like device” is that it will be hands-free.
From memory, I once read a patent document detailing some sort of magnetic field sensor that you place in the middle of the room, which works with the Move controller, this then allows you to completely track everything in 1:1 including the room you are in.
Could possibly be that.
Pylgrim
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 5:06 AMNo, no, Sony, this is a bit too early. You should wait until the new gimmicks for the new XBOX are leaked, so you can steal that too! In the meantime, see how you can implement a screen in your controllers! But remember, make them HD so, it will be better than the competition that initially came up with the idea.
Seriously, Sony has 0 shame. It disgusts me.
DansDans
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 7:07 AMThis article is evidence that people will believe anything as long as its published on their favourite/most commonly visited website.
Ed
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 8:06 AMKinect is an eyetoy on steroids. Somy Sid motion controls years a go. It’s only logical they will take it further. Plus it makes sense, games will now be portable to tr two ‘enthusiast’ platforms. This means developers are more likely to make games specifically for these motion devices.
Saying that I actually prefer the Sony method of making the motion controls optional. If you want them you can use it if you don’t what them…. Don’t.
Vince
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 9:44 AMI love how Sony says “Me Too!” to everything their competition releases.
RufusLives
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 9:47 AMI love it when speculation is reported as news.
Chris
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 10:11 AMI don’t get why everyone is getting all antsy in their pantsy about this :S
At the end of the day it’s a gaming system that anyone can, and should play. The PS3 and Xbox probably won’t ever reach the extremely ‘casual’ gamers the wii did… and even if so, who cares??
Throughout the history of gaming controllers have been varied across the board, the new method of bringing motions controls into it is just another step. Sure, it may not be perfect now but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be perfected in time.
It’s still new, it has a HUGE amount of potential and i can definitely see it getting to where it needs to be at.
And at the end of the day.. you don’t NEED to use it on any of the ‘REAL’ games you all keep talking about ;)
TSH
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 11:53 AMI don’t think they’ll make it by 2012. It’s possible, but the expense will be pretty prohibitive. Having said that, maybe they really want the new console to match with the Vita?