Remember how Sony executives continue to stress that their Playstation consoles are designed with a life-cycle of 10 years? PS3 isn’t even four years old yet and already this weird “leaked” viral video that popped up on YouTube from new user ‘SCElabs’ (Sony Computer Entertainment) is touting PS4 as being “in testing.”
The video has a number of things going for it that support its potential authenticity. The production values, direction, lighting, Sony branded gear and general weirdness match videos Sony has produced for their array of products in the past. If fake, someone would had have to have gone through a lot of trouble to build the set, acquire the gear and produce the spot.
At the same time there are some red flags waving in the wind. The usual Sony trademarks on the final screen are absent. Playstation 3 is too young to be replaced. The controller seen on-screen looks like a DualShock 3. And Sony loves to play with special effects in their videos; this one is devoid of them.
The biggest clue to sway your opinion one direction or the other may be the “PS 4 v4.0” on the bottom of the last screen. This could indicate the whole thing is an advertisement for the upcoming firmware update that will allow for stereoscopic 3D gaming on Playstation 3. Even though it’s just a software update, the marketing gurus could be using the opportunity to re-brand the console as something “new.” Or, PS4 could be the next console update after Slim that is nothing more than a slightly redesigned PS3 with 3D functionality for gaming and Blu-ray.
We’ll know for certain which way this video swings one way or the other early next week when Sony gives their E3 2010 keynote address. I’m thinking this video will appear at some point during that keynote.
