!: PlayStation 4 Release Date: Sooner Than You Think?

People have been raving about the PlayStation 3, the stunning graphics, the cell chip processor, the blue ray and its amazing capabilities.

Flashback 15 years ago. Capcom released Street Fighter II for arcades. Tecmo released Tecmo Super Bowl for NES, and Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog. Nintendo releases the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).

The release of the 16 bit Sega Genesis in '89 created competition with Nintendo who was previously dominating the home console internet gaming market. However, in '91 SNES brought Nintendo ahead once again.

At this time Sony was nowhere to be found in the gaming industry. However, at this time Sony had seen the power of the video game consoles, and began quietly working on a console that would rival Nintendo and Sega as the best game console on the market at the time. The Sony PlayStation became the first ever game console to sell over 100 million game units in March of 2005. The Sony also had the capability to play audio CDs, as Sony refused to say it was strictly a game console. This trend continued as it released the PlayStation 2, and it became the fastest selling console, selling over 105 million copies between October 26th, 2000 and March 31, 2006. The PS2 had the capability to not only be backward compatible in playing PlayStation 1 games, but it also played music, as well as DVD movies.

Flash back to the present time and Microsoft has now entered as a major player introducing their 2nd game console the Xbox360, which followed the Xbox. And even though Nintendo didn't have outside revenue from things such as stereos, computer software, home appliance and entertainment systems, they refused to be held back from being a major player in the game console market. They released the Nintendo Wii that will compete not only with the Xbox360, but was released in time for the Holidays to compete with the new PlayStation 3.

The PlayStation 3 is nothing short of amazing. The blu-ray drive makes it possible tor play ultra high density optical discs capable of storing digital media, including high definition video, allowing for some of the most stunning graphics you have ever seen. It also, comes with bluetooth wireless controller and most importantly the cell processing chip, the same chip used in some supercomputers.

According to wikipedia, during the Japan release on November 11th, 2006, the PlayStation3 sold 81,639 copies within the first 24 hours. It remains sold out and was found selling for as high as ,000 on Ebay. If the 20 GB built in hard drive isn't enough, the PS3 also comes in a premium version containing not only a 60 GB hard drive, but multiple flash card readers.

Will we see a PlayStation 4? Not only is the answer sooner then many people think, but according to Sony's Ken Kutaragi, they plan on releasing it within the next decade.

"My dream, and the dream of all my team, hasn't finished," Kutaragi told the BBC recently. "In fact we haven't achieved even half of what we're going to do."

"We want to lead with the PlayStation 3, and beyond that to the PlayStation 4 within the next decade."

One can only speculate on what the future of PlayStation is going to bring. It's hard to imagine it getting much better, but yet, every single release manages to innovate and exceed expectations. But one thing is for certain, they will always look to provide more for their hungry consumers, and they will continue to look for ways to improve technology beyond current capabilities.