It seems highly likely that the new Xbox and PlayStation 4 will be on very similar timelines, but with dramatically different approaches to the market. While the new Xbox will no doubt share more technology with the PC and mobile devices, the PS4 will keep Sony on its established path of pushing proprietary technology. Though there has been some speculation that an Nvidia-sourced ARM processor has been considered for the core of the new console, we should expect a new 16 SPE (synergistic processing elements) Cell processor in the PS4. What does that technical gobbledygook mean? Imagine the raw processing power of the PS3 as a Lamborghini Gallardo. Got that? Now imagine two Lamborghini Gallardos. There you go.

As for physical media, based on comments made by Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai last year, it seems likely that the next PlayStation will continue to use discs of some kind. While Blu-ray could certainly do the job, Sony is also involved with the development of the futuristic-sounding HVD (Holographic Versatile Disc) technology that is being cooked up by brainiacs in white coats at corporate labs around the world. In the unlikely event that Sony adopts the multi-terabyte (that's thousands of gigabytes) optical format for the PS4, it would probably be the first consumer product to make use of it.

Expect a glitzy graphics reel onstage at E3 in June, followed by lots of graphs and charts showing how many more gigabytes, gigahertz, and gigaflops the PS4 has. Will we see it in stores this year? Unlikely, but it could happen if Sony is keen to stick it to Microsoft.