PlayStation 4 in early 2013?

Source: A Bitmob report citing a source present at a "high-level meeting" at Sony.

What we heard: There's not much at the heart of the Bitmob article. The report cites a source with the quote, "PlayStation 4 in 18 months." The source apparently heard the news during "a 'high-level meeting' at Sony."

The next paragraph in the article says it's not clear if what happens in 18 months is supposed to be a launch or an announcement. The one after that emphasizes that the source in question isn't a fake or a show-off, and then the rest of the story is reserved for the writer's analysis of what Sony should put into the PS4 and when it should launch, concluding with a restatement of the 18-month window and a "We'll see."

This is not the first time the PS4 has come up. Beyond mentioning the PS4 numerous times around the 2006 launch of the PlayStation 3, Sony confirmed in May that development work on its next console had already begun. In July, Asia information technology site DigiTimes reported that the system would launch in 2012.

The one thing that is safe to assume about any rumor on the PS4 launch at this point is that no matter where it comes from or who reports it, things are not set in stone. Nothing is certain until Sony announces it, and perhaps not even then. Keep in mind that the PS3 was first announced at E3 2005 with a spring 2006 launch date (that changed), a boomerang-shaped controller (that changed), and two HDMI-out ports (that changed). Later on, Sony announced an outrageous Japanese price for the low-end PS3 of ¥60,000, but that changed to the slightly less outrageous ¥49,980 before the system even launched.

The official word: "We don't comment on speculation or rumors."--A Sony representative.

Bogus or not bogus?: The PlayStation 4 is coming eventually. That's not bogus. But at this point, so far from the thing's actual launch, any details--even ones that come directly from Sony--are unreliable at best.