PS4 revealed at PlayStation Meeting ahead of 2013 release - rumour

PlayStation 4 is indeed what Sony has up its sleeve for this month's PlayStation Meeting and the new console itself will release this year, according to whispers.

The Wall Street Journal cites "people familiar with the matter" for its claims; the publication's sources also said Microsoft's new console will release before the end of 2013.

The report goes on to say the new PlayStation console will incorporate more social features, with Sony concentrating on improving how users interact with the machine instead of just beefing up its power.

The whisperers said Sony and Microsoft both considered dropping an optical disk drive altogether but scrapped plans thanks to the size of game downloads and the poor speed of Internet connections in many important territories.

The sources reiterated past rumours that the heart of the new machine is AMD tech, cautioning that a non-Cell processor will cause compatibility issues with the current generation's catalogue. No mention was made of the codename Orbis.

Sony today called a PlayStation Meeting for February 20 where it is tipped to unveil a new console. Its last PlayStation Meeting, in 2011, debuted the Vita, almost a year ahead of its release.

Thanks, Superannuation.