While all eyes may currently be on Microsoft's newly announced Xbox One (if you've been keeping an eye on the site this week, you'll have seen how much news has come out about it), Sony aren't content to let their main competitors hog the spotlight. When Microsoft were getting ready to show off their new console, Sony put out a teaser trailer for the Playstation 4, with blink-and-you'll-miss-it snippets of the new console's design - and now they're trying to steal the thunder again, by taking out a full page advert in a UK newspaper.
The ad in full
While taking out a full page hyperbolic advert is nothing new, this is significant for one big reason - because it confirms the Playstation 4 will be launching this year. Speculation has been rife for months about whether the console would manage a worldwide launch in 2013, with several commentators and rumours suggesting that, while the console may launch in the US and Japan before Christmas, the UK and Europe may end up getting shafted again, with a "Spring 2014" launch being offered instead. Potential problems with producing enough units in time, and the logistical issues that come with a worldwide launch were suggested as reasons that Sony may prefer a staggered release, as was the case with the Playstation 3, which hit these shores some four months after the US launch (and at a higher price) - but thankfully, it seems the rumours weren't true.
With the Xbox One also confirmed to be hitting the shelves before the end of this year, that means there'll now be two new consoles, and a revitalised Wii U vying for our attention this Christmas. With no prices announced so far (although the smart money's on both being £300+, probably around the £350 mark), it's going to be a particularly painful year for our wallets - and after all, when making a substantial investment like this, finances dictate there can only be one winner. We'll just have to wait and see how the line-up of games shapes up for each console, with Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft set to show off their wares in just a few week's at the world's largest gaming convention, E3. It's certainly set to be an exciting show.
