3DS receiving significant price cut

Nintendo announced a significant price cut of around 40 percent for the 3DS amidst poor sales. In one way, I told you so. But then again, I did not.

PS4 coming 2012, feature Kinect-like controls?

The PlayStation4 will hit markets in 2012 and feature a control mechanism based on body movements similar to Kinect, Digitimes has learnt.

Sony will have Taiwan-based partners begin production of PlayStation 4 (PS4) featuring body movement-based control like Kinect at the end of 2011 for launch in 2012, according to Taiwan-based component makers.

Foxconn and Pegatron Technology, assemblers of PS3, will undertake assembly of PS4 as well, the sources pointed out. The planned shipment volume of PS4 in 2012 is at least 20 million units, the sources indicated.

It seems likely that next year, all three next generation consoles will launch (or will at least be announced to launch in 2013). Remember that Microsoft also has a successor console sent out to select third-parties, according to rumours.

More than two years ago, I predicted that all three next generation consoles would be announced in 2011 and 2012 and that the ten year lifecycle Sony envisaged for the PS3 was an illusion.

With the PlayStation3, Sony may be committed to a ten year life cycle. But Microsoft will clearly pull a successor to its Xbox360 out of the hat before 2012 by the latest. The same goes for Nintendo. And if the PS3 isn't selling now, why should it be selling in three years time, when there will be two next-gen consoles out, which are both sure to surpass the PS3 in either hardware power or controller scheme or both.