Next-generation video game consoles seem to clearly be close enough, however, it does not look like Microsoft Corp. and Sony Corp. have made final decisions regarding the formal unveilings of their new systems. According to the latest market rumours, both companies are not going to wait till the E3 trade-show and will organize dedicated events to reveal their new PlayStation and Xbox consoles around March.

“We hear that both Sony and Microsoft are targeting special Apple-style press conferences to unveil their platforms near the Game Developers Conference in late March. E3 in June may be the industry's biggest event, but both companies want to give their systems their own limelight. That does not mean E3 will not be without its surprises. Next-gen games will be announced at the convention in preparation for the systems' release at the end of the year,” a report in the latest issue of the Game Informer magazine claims, reports Video Gamer web-site.

In the last few weeks various reports revealed different information concerning launch timeframes for the next-generation game consoles. One report suggested that Sony was going to unleash the PlayStation 4 at its Destination PlayStation event in late February; another suggested that both PS4 and Xbox Next will be unveiled at the E3 convention.

GDC takes place in late March, therefore, for Sony it is rather logical to reveal the next-gen PlayStation at Destination PlayStation in late February since organizing a special event in mid-March seems a bit illogical.

“We hear that Sony in particular is determined not to come out last this time like the PlayStation 3 did this generation, so we'll have to see how soon it can get the PlayStation 4 out the door, and whether Microsoft is motivated to prevent this from happening,” the report reads.

Microsoft seems to be somewhat more flexible with the formal launch of the Xbox 360 since it does not host any video games-related events in the first half of this year. Based on GDC schedules, Microsoft will not reveal its Xbox Next there, unless it adds a special press conference into the program of the trade-show, which may be an uneasy thing to do.

Both Microsoft Xbox Next (Durango, Loop, 720, etc.) as well as PlayStation 4 (Orbis, Odin, Omni, etc.) are projected to be based on custom microprocessors and graphics processing units developed by Advanced Micro Devices and largely based on PC hardware. It is expected that both consoles will be available this holiday season for $350 - $400.

Tags: Microsoft, Xbox, Sony, Playstation, Xbox Next, Loop, Durango, Orbis, Odin, Omni