Console Wars 2013: Sony PS4 and its competitors

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Sony PlayStation 4
The current hot topic in console gaming, the just-announced PlayStation 4, is still largely an enigma. We don't know how much the PS4 will cost, when it's being released (beyond "holiday 2013"), or even what it looks like.

For now, it's still the next-gen hardware to beat, and what little we do know sounds impressive, with an entirely new system architecture based on an X86 AMD CPU/GPU that should make the PS4 easier to develop for and more flexible (and, frankly, more PC-like).

But 2013 will take the traditional three-way console race and add several new players, all of which may gain a serious advantage by not being tied into the classic living-room console hardware business model.