SCEA CEO and president Jack Tretton addressed the issue of the PlayStation 4 in an interview with IGN, and stated that the rumors of such a console being introduced this year at E3 would be an unnecessary ”distraction” for the company, especially with the upcoming launch of a new handheld in five days.
According to Tretton, ”In terms of when you talk about (the next generation) and when you announce it, it really depends on the health of the existing platform and the other things you have going on.”
”And right now, we’re focused on PlayStation 3, and I’ve got another platform (PlayStation Vita) to get out the door in seven days, so I don’t want to be thinking about trying to launch new technology anytime soon. I want to focus all our energy on our console business, which is really just hitting its stride, and Vita, which really deserves a dedicated push from us,” he related.
Tretton then stated firmly, ”I, quite frankly, would be very distracted if I had to be talking about next generation hardware this year.”
Last month, sources claimed that the PlayStation 4 would debut at E3 2012. That rumor was quickly shot down by Michael Pachter and others.