He added: "It is no longer thinkable to have a huge initial financial investment like that of the PS3."
"But this is a platform business, so for the future platform – when we'll be introducing what product, I cannot discuss – but our development work is already under way, so the costs are incurred there."
At the recent CES show a senior Sony executive told me that the company had speculated as to whether they needed a new Playstation console. "What we need is a fast processor that delivers content including gaming and 3D movies to a display screen. That processor could be built into a TV a media hub for connection to non-Sony display screen with content delivered over an IP network".
"We will always need a means by which people can access content other than via an IP network, because in many countries there is no fast broadband infrastructure. This is where Blu ray will have a life after markets like Europe and the US have moved onto fibre networks".
As to when the new processor will appear Sony Computer Entertainment UK boss Ray Maguire told Tech Radar recently: "The online side is very interesting and is a big part of our business going forward. But in terms of what sort of technology we'll be using, it's far too early to say yet because we're only half way through the lifecycle of PS3 - there are many years to come on that machine."