Since the official unveiling of the PlayStation 2, Sony has occasionally alluded to the development of the console's successor. During a keynote speech given around the time of the PS2 unveiling, Shinichi Okomoto, senior vice president of R&D at SCEI, said that the company has already begun research on the PlayStation 3, with hopes of making the next PlayStation 1,000 times as powerful as the PlayStation 2. Around the same time, Ken Kutaragi, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, said that he already has specific plans for developing advanced graphics chips for the next PlayStation console. Further information regarding the PlayStation 3 has been brought to light in an article in the November issue of Scientific American magazine. Although the scientific community may be familiar with some of the information in the publication, it comes as news to the gaming community.

　　In the article covering various aspects of digital entertainment, Ken Kutaragi speaks further on the PlayStation 3. According to Kutaragi, the PlayStation and computer entertainment division will serve as the drivers for the entire parent company. With the PlayStation 3, Sony hopes to merge content from its other divisions, such as Sony pictures and Sony music, by establishing a direct chain of distribution and by having the PlayStation 3 serve as the platform hub. Additionally, Sony's plans for the PS3 include online shopping functions, online banking, and other interactive Internet services. Naturally, some of these functions could be introduced to the mass market with the PlayStation 2, but Sony's digital convergence plans for the PS3 seem to be on a larger scale.

　　With the PlayStation 2 in relative infancy, specific details regarding its successor won't be revealed for some time. However, it is interesting to note Sony's interests in leveraging its other divisions by further proliferating the PlayStation brand in the mass market.