PlayStation 4 will be announced this month, released this year and may even let players

share videos and screenshots directly from their controller.

What follows is all rumor for now, but I thought you'd like to know.

Anonymous sources have told both Polygon and The Wall Street Journal that the big event

on February 20 will indeed be the announcement of Sony’s next console and that Sony is

aiming to release the system before the end of the year.

The Wall Street Journal suggests that Sony “is planning to incorporate more social

gaming aspects into the new machine” and “is more focused this time on the changes

in how users interact with the machine.”

Edge Online, meanwhile, also reports that the next PlayStation will be out before the

end of the year in the U.S. and Japan (but not until early 2014 in Europe) and says it

will be more powerful than the next console from Microsoft.

The system will allegedly feature a redesigned controller, which fits with rumors of Sony

abandoning the DualShock that circulated earlier this month.

According to Edge, the system “will ship with a redesigned controller which is the

same size as an existing DualShock but features a small touchpad in place of the existing

Select, Start and PS buttons. The tech is based on Vita’s rear touchpad, and is similarly

responsive in use.”

Edge also refers to specific elements of the controller mentioned in a leaked list of specs

last week. Specifically, Edge says Sony’s new controller will feature a Share button

that will “launch a new feature that will allow screenshots and video to be distributed

online.” The system will reportedly “continually record the most recent 15 minutes of onscreen

action, which users will then be able to edit and broadcast via the Internet.”

That sounds very interesting.

For now, the future of PlayStation is uncertain, but Sony told IGN yesterday "The PlayStation

meeting will be about the future of the PlayStation business."

IGN will attend Sony’s event in New York City on February 20, so keep checking back

for confirmed news as it’s announced.