According to the recent report from
Kotaku the next Playstation is known as the Orbis and is due for release in late 2013.
Current specs reported are an AMD x64 CPU and an AMD Southern Islands GPU, but these are obviously subject to change over the time period. The current GPU is reported to be able to display resolutions of up to 4096x2160, with the added ability to produce 1080p 3D visuals, which is enough to make any 3D fanboy jump for joy, after the PS3 only managed to scrape 720p.
Major downsides include no backwards compatibility, which resembles the nightmare of the PS3's launch. Sony are also keen to back the elimination of preowned games, whereby new games will apparently be locked to the original users PSN account. However all games will be up for download on the PSN, along with the standard Blu-Ray disc versions.
One final point is the choice of name for Orbis. Orbis is Latin for Circle or Ring which, when coupled with Vitae (PS Vita anybody?) would create 'Circle of Life.' Aka, Sony's
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