Long live play

Of course, a new system is meaningless without new software to support it, and that’s where the really exciting predictions begin. We already know that a number of Sony’s first-party studios have started “preliminary work” on PlayStation 4 projects, and we’re expecting a mixture of the new and old from the platform holder’s launch offering. It’s certainly a strategy that the company’s employed to great effect with the PS Vita.

Just imagine Uncharted on PS4

Every new platform needs a visual showpiece, and few franchises can rival Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series in that area. If you think about it, the return of Nathan Drake makes a lot of sense. Not only is Uncharted arguably Sony’s most revered franchise at the moment, but the development times line up with what we’re speculating. Naughty Dog tends to operate on a bi-yearly cycle, and if the PlayStation 4 is due out in late 2013 then it’s possible that Naughty Dog’s next project would be ready to go. Furthermore, Naughty Dog has been one of Sony’s most important technical developers, playing host to the ICE team which has been pivotal in providing “core graphics technologies for Sony's worldwide first party published titles”. While it’s true that Naughty Dog is currently hard at work on the upcoming PS3 title, The Last of Us, the developer made it clear at the end of 2011 that the studio has expanded into two teams, leaving the Uncharted team free to continue with Nathan Drake’s adventures.

But new platforms benefit from fresh intellectual property as much as they do familiar faces, and that’s where we think Guerrilla Games comes in. There’s no doubt that the studio has more Killzone in the works, but it’s also publically known that the Dutch developer is knee-deep in an entirely new franchise; according to various job listings, that new IP is thought to be a fantasy RPG. Whatever your opinion of the Killzone franchise – and it’s not for everybody – one thing that’s consistent throughout the series is a strong art direction. Job listings state that the team is in need of programmers with a strong understanding of “first-person shooters” but also concept artists versed in “heroism” and “legend”. The possibilities are mouthwatering.

Humbled and refocused, with Worldwide Studios returned to Sony's heart, the future looks bright.

No PlayStation platform would be complete without a look to the future, either. Polyphony Digital may still be hard at work on content updates for Gran Turismo 5, but we refuse to believe that the Japanese racing sim developer doesn’t have half an eye on its next project. The Gran Turismo HD Concept released shortly after the PlayStation 3 offered a sneak into the future, and we’d be amazed if Polyphony Digital didn’t have something similar in mind to arrive with the next home hardware.

The biggest asset to PlayStation 4's software line-up is the number of developers at Sony's disposal, all ready to produce exclusive content. The past several years have been a growth period for SCE, and it’s really beefed up its first-party output in the process. Developers such as Media Molecule and Sucker Punch are both committed to bi-yearly release schedules, and by our reckoning should be moving onto next generation development in no time.

The next few years are going to be critical for Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida. Many will remember how the PlayStation Portable’s software offering dried up around the time of the release of the PlayStation 3, and Sony can’t let a similar thing happen to the PS Vita. Supplying three consoles is going to be tough, but Sony has the bandwidth to cope.

It’s an exciting time for PlayStation all around: the PS Vita is nearing release, the PlayStation 3 is at its most attractive yet and the PlayStation 4 rumours aren't going to stop. When Sony decides to announce its next platform is largely irrelevant, because what’s apparent is that the platform holder is in an extremely strong position. Humbled and refocused, with the newly assembled Worldwide Studios returned to the heart of the company’s endeavours, the future looks bright.