15w ago - Yesterday Sony teased with a PS4 / Orbis
promotional video on their next-generation console, and today Edge-Online.com (linked above) has revealed some additional PlayStation 4 details as well.
Below is the scoop including purported PS4 launch dates, to quote: "Development sources with working knowledge of both next generation consoles have told us that PlayStation 4 will be more powerful than the next XBox, will ship with a redesigned controller and launch by the end of the year in Japan and the US. PlayStation 4's European launch will follow in early 2014.
Sony is set to reveal its next PlayStation on Wednesday February 20th at an event dubbed 'see the future'. Sony Computer Entertainment released a teaser video last night to announce the event. Below, our sources revealed what to expect from PlayStation 4.
The controller
Sources close to the hardware have revealed to us that PS4 will ship with a redesigned controller which is the same size as an existing DualShock but features a small touchpad in place of the existing Select, Start and PS buttons. The tech is based on Vita's rear touchpad, and is similarly responsive in use.
A new Share button on the controller will, when pressed, launch a new feature that will allow screenshots and video to be distributed online. The PS4 hardware will continually record the most recent 15 minutes of onscreen action (with no processing penalty, claims our source), which users will then be able to edit and broadcast via the Internet.
The launch
We're told that PlayStation 4 will launch in Japan and the US by Christmas, with a Euro rollout following in early 2014, the delay attributed to the complexities involved in European distribution. Alongside the console, Sony will also introduce a new, improved iteration of its PlayStation Eye peripheral, which remains compatible with the PlayStation Move controller. Move will be available at launch, but it's not clear yet whether it will be bundled with the hardware."
Update:
VG247.com has now seemingly confirmed that the PS4 controller will include a front touch-pad, speaking a week before the console's expected reveal in New York.
To quote: "A VG247 source said today that PS4′s rumoured controller touch-pad is real. The input is on the front of the handset. The Start and Select buttons have been moved as a result.
The controller is "more or less" the same shape as the current DualShock. We've been told today that the L2 and R2 buttons have been remodelled for the better.
Sony is expected to announce PlayStation 4 at a New York event next Wednesday."
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Might as well be here 
Below is their http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/01/31/see-the-future/ video teaser into the future of PlayStation, with Sony planning a big announcement at 6PM EST on February 20th, 2013 just ahead of its Destination PlayStation event.
Currently all fans can do is speculate whether Sony planning to announce details on its next-gen plans ahead of E3 2013 with an early unveiling of the PS4 / Orbis / PlayStation 4 console.
According to Wedbush industry analyst Michael Pachter via https://twitter.com/michaelpachter/status/297124378976600064: "Sony is inviting investors and media to the Feb 20 event; that means console announcement. I'm genuinely excited, although I will be in LA."
The http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323701904578276672168365276.html reports that not only will Sony debut its next-gen console at the event, but that it will be released later this year. To quote:
“Sony’s device will be released later this year, these people [familiar with the matter] said, and will spar against Microsoft’s own machine, which is also expected to be released by the holidays,” wrote the publication.
The new system will incorporate “more social gaming aspects” and be more focused on “changes in how users interact with the machine” versus “hardware improvements,” according to the outlet.
At one point, the PlayStation manufacturer considered removing the system’s disc drive in favor for an all-digital console, said The Wall Street Journal. But concerns over game file size and slow internet connections made them scrap the idea. Microsoft is said have made a similar decision.
Finally, according to http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2013/01/30/playstation-com-redirect-suggests-ps4-is-indeed-the-final-name/ a PlayStation.com redirect suggests PS4 is indeed the final name.
To quote: "Visit http://us.playstation.com/ps4/ and it takes you to the PlayStation front page. Visit anything else, for example /ps5 or /orbis, and it doesn’t, you get a 404 error.
What can this trickery possibly mean? Well, apart from the fact that somebody at Sony knows how to set up a proper redirect, it strongly suggests that Orbis is out of the window and Sony are sticking to prior experience: the PS4 will be – wait for it – called the PS4.
Orbis, then, was just the codename, as we suspected." As always, time will tell!
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