With an almost Apple-esque command of drama and mystery, Sony has just issued [3] press invitations for a February 20th event where it will let journalists "see the future."

There's a mention on Sony's Twitter account [4] of this too, and a website for the event has a video that quite definitely hints this news is PlayStation related.

Are we about to see the PlayStation 4 for the first time?

The Wall Street Journal thinks so [5], noting that it's heard the console will indeed be shown at the event but released later in the year. It also says there will still be disc-based storage, and much more social integration. Considering that Sony stopped making [6] the legacy PS2 machine at the very end of 2012, and that the PS3 is now about five years [7] into the typical ten year lifespan of a console, the timing is perfect...and very bad news for Nintendo [8].

Does the idea of a PlayStation 4 excite you? Or are you waiting for the Xbox 720?