If you’ve been waiting for a replacement for your aging PS3 or XBox 360, your wait may be a bit longer than you think. According to Kotaku, neither Microsoft nor Sony will launch new gaming consoles before 2014.
“Both [Microsoft] and Sony are telegraphing to each other that they’re delaying, to milk the current [generation] and fill in previous craters better,” one source told Kotaku. In contrast, Nintendo’s next generation gaming console is expected to land sometime next year.
But wait, all is not lost. Microsoft and Sony may decide to build onto their current systems. For example, Microsoft may release a “Kinect-upgraded” Xbox 360 in 2013. “Sony definitely isn’t launching a successor before 2014 and could stand to benefit by having Microsoft launch first as PS3 builds in North America and builds a strong position in Europe,” said Billy Pidgeon, an analyst with M2 Research cited in the article.
Microsoft has stated it will offer support for the Xbox 360 through 2015. So, it stands to reason we should see a replacement for it sometime before that. So, the 2014 date makes some sense.
Although, if I were Microsoft I might worry a bit more about how to sustgain consumer interest in a console that’s already over six years old. In the tech and gaming world, that’s almost an eternity.
