The year is 2012 and PlayStation 3 has now been on the market for over half a decade, having celebrated its fifth anniversary last November. Although Sony’s black box is roughly only half way through its life cycle, some PS3 owners are already anticipating the arrival of a successor platform. Indeed, rumors continue to float around the net pertaining to Sony’s next-generation home console, with some claiming first-party studios have already received development kits.
Sony of course is keeping mum on the subject, refusing to confirm that there will even be a follow-up to the PS3. However, that hasn’t stopped PlayStation fans from continuing to speculate and dream about the possibilities of new hardware. What kind of graphical power would it boast? Will it have hardware issues like the PS3? What new abilities will it possess?
Of course, there are some gamers who are more concerned with aesthetics and other smaller details. What color will it be, white or black? Will it weigh as much as the PlayStation 3 or even less? However, today we are going to magnify a smaller prospect: the name.
What’s in a name? A name can dictate first impressions. As far as a new console is concerned, it’s only natural to expect Sony to call it PS4. That said, however, didn’t people predict the PlayStation Vita would simply be called “PlayStation Portable 2”? Much to their surprise, Sony went another direction. The hardware manufacturer kept the PlayStation branding of course, but attached a new name to it — Vita, which means “Life” in Latin. Gamers such as myself welcome the new name. After all, PlayStation is a classic calling, but after over a decade the name can get stale.
So what will Sony call the “PlayStation 4”? Will they just stick with PS4? How about the PS Vita route, keeping the “PlayStation” title, but adding something fresh? Or could they abandon PlayStation, and use a new name entirely? The latter is the less expected and least probable. PlayStation has sold massively over the years and consumers have grown to love the brand. However, one can’t help but wonder . . .
What would YOU like Sony to do? Do you like the basic “PlayStation 4”? Do you predict the PlayStation Vita method, which is keeping PlayStation but adding to it? Or do you wish Sony would dump PlayStation and acquire a new identity?
Vote in the poll and express your thoughts in the comments!
By Shawnee Lee