( CNN ) -- The eyes of the gaming world are on Sony , which on Wednesday is expected to unveil the PlayStation 4 , the latest version of its popular gaming console . It 's been more than six years since the company launched its PlayStation 3 . That 's an eon in the warp-speed tech industry , and the company faces a drastically altered landscape as it enters a new round of battles with its top competitors : Microsoft 's Xbox and Nintendo 's Wii ( and , now , the Wii U ) . Long gone are the days when gamers had to pop into their local game shop for the latest titles . PC gaming , Web streaming and smartphone and tablet games have all sapped the popularity of the venerable living-room console . In this new era of mobile , connected gaming , experts say faster processors and flashier specs wo n't be enough for the next generation . `` If you look at where the market is headed , it 's clear that Sony needs to acknowledge that the traditional console business is dead , '' said Dan `` Shoe '' Hsu , editor-in-chief of gaming site GamesBeat . `` There will still be some room for big-budget , disc-based games sold at retail stores , sure . But mobile , free-to-play and social are huge in gaming , and the next PlayStation needs to accommodate those sectors . '' Still beloved among its legions of dedicated gamers , Sony has some work to do if it is to leapfrog back to the top of the gaming heap . Its PlayStation 2 , which was released in 2000 , is the top-selling gaming console of all time with more than 150 million sold . The PS3 has held its own but is not believed to have come even close to that number , with estimates hovering around 77 million . That 's been enough to keep the console neck and neck with Microsoft ( which is rumored to be developing its own next-generation console , the Xbox 720 ) but trailing Nintendo 's Wii , which has parlayed its wide appeal with family and casual gamers into the top spot since hitting the market in 2006 . The success of the Wii , which let players manipulate in-game avatars by moving their bodies , spawned similar motion-controlled systems in 2010 from Microsoft ( Kinect ) and Sony ( Move ) . But in 2013 , with the motion-control craze on the wane , Sony may sense a new opening . Sales of the Wii U , released in November , have stumbled out of the blocks as gamers continue processing the system 's multiscreen setup . Observers like Hsu say that will take a sales pitch that appeals to how today 's gamer plays as much as , or more than , how the new system performs . `` Sony needs to show its next system is ready for the future , and this includes some crossover play with smartphones , digital distribution , cloud storage to help minimize the need for physical media and a free-to-play ecosystem that can bring in new gamers , '' he said . `` Pure horsepower will be less important this time around . '' The inevitable flood of rumors about this week 's announcement suggests that may be on Sony 's mind as well . The new console will have the ability to stream online games , according to a report from the Wall Street Journal . Unnamed sources say the tech will be used to let players play older PS3 games on the new console as well as new ones . Last year , Sony bought Gakai , a cloud-based gaming company that let PC gamers stream top games via broadband . Images of what are claimed to be prototypes of the PlayStation 4 's controllers have leaked and appear to show a `` Share '' button , suggesting that social-sharing options will be baked into the system . And Sony has begun slashing prices on its handheld Vita gaming system , starting in Japan , leading some to speculate that there could be mobile integration in the PS4 . Of course , like Nintendo and especially Microsoft , Sony wants to continue branding its console as an entertainment hub for the living room , not just a gaming toy . Sony is rumored to be developing its own online TV service to compete with cable , something it would feature heavily on a new PlayStation . PlayStation already has streaming-media apps like Netflix , Amazon Instant and Hulu . Gamers will be looking for all that and more . But , as some observers note , all of the extras will have to branch out from a very important home base . `` The PlayStation 3 has matured into a fantastic gaming system , '' wrote CNET 's Jeff Bakalar . `` Sony must maintain this luxury into the next generation . For all the extracurricular bells and whistles this system will boast , gamers still want to play great games that you ca n't experience anywhere else . Exclusive games sell systems first . ''
The eyes of the gaming world this week are on Sony , expected to unveil PlayStation 4 . Score: 7 New console would compete with Nintendo 's Wii U , Microsoft 's Xbox 360 . Consoles also now compete with PC gaming , mobile games and Web streaming .