With rumors of PlayStation 4 at an all time high, Sony feels that now is the "prime time" to own a PS3.
Despite turning six this November and all of the next-gen console talk, Sony Worldwide Studios chief Shuhei Yoshida believes the system's strong lineup of upcoming games and affordable price makes it the optimal system to pick up this year.
"PS3 is I think in prime time," Yoshida told Eurogamer. "It's a great time for consumers to look at purchasing PS3 this year. There are a variety of games coming out and new and exciting games coming out next year."
"At the same time the library of games we are able to offer at a very affordable price – we just announced the Essentials line in Europe. So, for the budget conscious consumer it's a perfect new platform to join this Christmas," he added.
Sony has always prided itself on its diversified gaming library and Sony exclusives. This year appears to be no different as Sony has several impressive looking, highly-anticipated titles that will make prospective and current PS3 owners quite happy.
"For people who own PS3, rest assured new content is still coming," he said. "Games like Last of Us and Beyond look amazing compared to the early PS3 titles. There's still something surprising happening on the platform."
The Last of Us is a new survival adventure game developed by Naughty Dog, who just so happened to develop another iconic PS3 exclusive franchise, Uncharted. There is also Quantic Dream's Beyond: Two Souls starring Ellen Paige and upcoming mascot brawler PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.
But what about a price cut for the PS3? I mean, with the PS4 rumored to release by 2014 at the latest, you'd think Sony would begin dropping the price. Apparently, that's not the case.
"We are very happy with where we are in terms of PS3: the services, games and the pricing included," Yoshida concluded. "So, there's no plan for any change we can talk about."
Instead, Sony is trying new initiatives like the Cross Buy promotion which looks to be designed to boost PS Vita sales, but could help benefit the PS3 as well. With Cross Buy, consumers can purchase a PS3 game, like Battle Royale, and get a copy of the Vita version (provided there is one) for free. While from a consumer standpoint it seems like a great deal, Sony recently admitted that the promotion is limited by technological differences between the PS3 and PS Vita. Of course, many speculate that the PS4 could implement a PC-based environment, making Cross Play much easier for developers.
