Sony: PS4 Release Doesn't Mean PS3 Will be Abandoned

Sony has reassured PS3 owners that it doesn't expect them to immediately upgrade to the PS4, and said that it will continue to support the older machine.

Speaking to Famitsu, Sony Japan president Hiroshi Kawano said, “It’s been seven years since the release of the PS3 and the console continues to sell at a constant pace, plus we have many upcoming titles. We have no intention of immediately shifting from the PS3 to the PS4.”

This is in keeping with Sony's track record. It continued to support the PS2 well into the PS3's life cycle.

Echoing his colleague's point, Sony Worldwide president Shuhei Yoshida added, “With the 2014 launch of our cloud service in the US allowing users to play PS3 games on the PS4, some people may switch consoles from the PS3 to the PS4. But that’ll be a gradual process, and to say ‘we’re releasing a new console, so trade in your old ones for it’ would be a maker’s ego talking, plain and simple.”

Thanks to Kotaku for the translation.