Sony to unveil PlayStation 4 on Feb 20?

Sony is poised to unveil the next PlayStation game console on Feb 20, after journalists worldwide received invitations to a press event in New York yesterday. If the rumours are true, the earlier-than-expected launch date will give the Japanese electronics company a head start over Microsoft's expected announcement of an Xbox 360 successor in June. The company has not said what it plans to show off, but signs indicate that it will be the PlayStation 4. Sony would only say that it "will deliver and speak about the future PlayStation business”. While Sony officials I met at the Taipei Game Show remain tight-lipped, The Wall Street Journal, citing "people familiar with the matter", reported that the Japanese giant will indeed unveil the PS4 on Feb 20 and that the device will go on sale "later this year". The Journal's sources also said Sony will add more social gaming features to the new PlayStation and will focus not on juicing up the gadget's hardware but on how players interact with the device. The last time Sony held a Playstation event, in Jan 2011, it presented a prototype of its handheld Vita console. Before that, it convened a gathering in 2005 two months after it first demonstrated the PS3 concept. A meeting in 1999 revealed designs for the PS2.