Microsoft and Sony plan to hold off releasing their next consoles until 2014, according to the 'industry sources' of a new report.
Despite strong rumours that Nintendo will reveal its next-gen console at E3 this year for a release in 2012, MS and Sony are said to be 'hoping' they can continue with their plan of giving their current machines long long innings.
Other sources suggest that while they hear 2014 is the target date for both companies, they may pull plans forward to a 2013 release if they 'feel pushed'. We wonder if Nintendo's new console sweeping in next year would be enough of a push.
But it's early days yet, says another source, who claims MS still doesn't know what components will be in the next Xbox as the firm's board continues to debate over "whether to be profitable on day one", or to launch at a loss and rely on software sales for eventual profits as MS and Sony did with the current gen.
If MS does release a console in 2013, adds the same source, it's more likely to be a Kinect-enabled Xbox 360 rather than a next-gen console.
Meanwhile industry analyst Billy Pidgeon reckons "we'll see a game of chicken between Sony and Microsoft," adding, "Sony definitely isn't launching a successor before 2014 and could stand to benefit by having Microsoft launch first as PS3 builds in to North America and builds a strong position in Europe."
He went on: "Microsoft claims there's a lot more room in Xbox 360 for developers to max out, but here PS3 could have a strong advantage."
Nintendo's Wii 2 has reportedly been named 'Project Cafe' behind-the-scenes, and features a custom IBM PowerPC CPU with three cores, a GPU from the ATI R700 family with a shader unit at version 4.1, and at least 512Mb of RAM.
CVG's sources have told us that the system will come with a controller that houses its own HD touch-screen. We expect an E3 reveal in June.
Comments
66 comments so far...
ste hicky on 20 Apr '11 said:
nice 2 year gap for nintendo there.
Barry316 on 20 Apr '11 said:
Be broke that year again then
ryanreedymusic on 20 Apr '11 said:
First of all we can all agree that 360 and PS3 would be so behind if held till 2014. Secondly if the developers are complaining already about the current generation of consoles needing to move on. Wait until 2014 and your going to have some seriously p**sed off developers. Plus it just isn't a smart business move to let Sony and Microsoft have a 2 year gap from the new Wii 2. Its not logical at all. I believe that the PC is about to get a solid rise in development and relive the same old glory days before the new consoles come out.
NostalgicGamer on 20 Apr '11 said:
Launching next gens in 2014/15 is just too far away. Nintendo will surely take the market (again) with their strategy. I do hope they pay first class attention to us hardcores this time round.
Metatasian on 20 Apr '11 said:
Great, so that means were stuck with s**tty PC ports for the next 3 years.
TOKEN on 20 Apr '11 said:
2014 is to far but wii 2 will wow consumers a scare the others to releasing 2013,maybe.
Ninty are giving more support to 3rd party this time round.
TheCrimsonFenix on 20 Apr '11 said:
If the big guys were seriously bringing new consoles out then... f**k that. This generation of consoles hasn't even been justified as far as I'm concerned. So until I get to play a game that has lived up to the promises, doesn't cut out content for the sake of preorder or post-release dlc, lasts more than a measly 5 hours, and doesn't cut back on key single player content for the sake of the same multiplayer crap that hasn't changed without simply changing the name of a game mode, I will not in any way bother with a new console. Fancier graphics for me doesn't warrant a new console release.
damoxuk on 20 Apr '11 said:
It all depends (if) when the Wii 2 gets announced this year for 2012 release and whether it will be slightly better than the 360/ps3 (in which case sony and microsoft probably won't be in any hurry to roll next gen) however if the Wii 2 is a major upgrade over ps3/360 (i.e full 1080p gaming/blu-ray capabilities) then microsoft/sony will probably have to fast track there new consoles to keep up with Nintendo.
aawells07 on 20 Apr '11 said:
Man i hope thats not true as the above posters are saying it just seems way to long for alot of reasons to hold off that long i dunno i suspect we will here more around E3 which i cant wait for i love E3 and the whole vibe it brings
TheLastDodo on 20 Apr '11 said:
I'd be ok with a 2013 release for the PS4, providing that the PS3 is still supported for online gaming, theres no need to buy a new console at launch unless you're one of those people that has to have the latest greatest thing asap, give it a year and wait for a decent library to build up.
Brainflowers on 20 Apr '11 said:
Hmmm if 2014 does prove to be accurate, I can live with that.. I don't think we're yet anywhere near seeing the best of the current gen, and I'd be v happy to squeeze another few years out of my multi-hundred pound investment.. A few years before its release, I didn't think that the PS2 was capable of pulling off the likes of MGS3, and I think we'll see a similar story near the very end of this cycle too.
Unless wii 2 reaaally blows ps3/360's specs outta the water, I really doubt MS or sony will be in any sudden rush to roll out their new tech. I'm all for loong console cycles
Very_Silver_Ownz on 20 Apr '11 said:
'' First of all we can all agree that 360 and PS3 would be so behind if held till 2014. Secondly if the developers are complaining already about the current generation of consoles needing to move on. Wait until 2014 and your going to have some seriously p**sed off developers. ''
Game companies are always complaining about power. They just want more of it so they can put less effort on the actual gameplay.
Graphics have reach their full on consoles, its now time to focus on gameplay.
le_don on 20 Apr '11 said:
Any one who thinks that the current generation of consoles aren't already maxed out in terms of graphical ability, is quite frankly, a moron. The PS3 and Xbox 360 are struggling, developers complain because they have to work around these constraints. Battlefield 3 being lead on a PC, is probably the first game in years that I can remember that they're porting from a PC to consoles and not the other way round, and it just goes to show, we need new hardware NOW!
I seriously think consoles should have a certain amount of upgradability, not too disimilar to that of the extra ram the N64 needed when Perfect Dark was released. This would enable long life spans of consoles, but would enable upgrades for games which pushed boundaries and need extra horsepower, even if you could just upgrade the ram and harddrive, it would be very welcome in my eyes. I'd like to see full console/pc hybrids, allowing you to keep the same console, same OS and motherboard, but upgrade each individual component, but I just can't see it happening, it's a shame, because it makes sense to everyone apart from the console makers, marketeers and cheif execs, who only care about not segregating their image and maintaining profit margins.
alan666 on 20 Apr '11 said:
the Wii 2 needs much more than 512 MB of RAM
ste hicky on 21 Apr '11 said:
i'd say the best companies have always focussed on gameplay.
disagree about the hitting the ceiling graphically remark too man.
when i play an FF that looks like this in realtime @ 1080p,fair enough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GemT2kn1TC0
nowhere near that yet.
let's not forget that the ps3 and 360 can't even do 1080p for the most part and don't see the high end textures in games like me,me2,black ops,elder scrolls,etc... that the pc gets resulting in inferior looking products.
i think consoles have still got a good way to go yet.
humanhand on 21 Apr '11 said:
That was my first thought after reading the article. Seriously, beef up the RAM.
The_Jaster on 21 Apr '11 said:
Another reason Nintendo were really smart in keeping wii's graphic power on the low side.
Bailey-AU on 21 Apr '11 said:
Like many here already mentioned, if the Wii 2 is a lot more powerful than the 360 and PS3 it may push MS and Sony to pull their releases to 2013, if not, they won't bother: they'll wait and then blow the Wii 2 out of the water 2 years later.
I'm all for the 2014 release date; I think it's perfect. The best is yet to come this generation, just look at Okami and God of War 2 for the PS2. Games like Bungie's new project, Skyrim, BF3 even Portal 2 (which I'm playing right now, and is great), they're just the start of these top tier titles that will be amazing and will enjoy healthy sales because the install bases are massive. Does it bother me that the developers are screaming for new hardware? Not in the slightest. They should focus less on graphical power and push gameplay innovation while they wait.
corkscru74 on 21 Apr '11 said:
I think you're being a bit harsh there. Batman AA and Red Dead are two examples that I've played that imo lived up to the hype, lasted a decent length of time and showed off the potential of this generation of consoles. We've also got some great games coming out this year that I'm pretty sure will do the same. Sure, there have been some let downs too but I think we're just expecting a lot more from our games nowadays and the perils of producing a game that doesn't sell by the bucket load yadda yadda yadda.
In terms of console cycles, Playstations have so far had a 6 year life span and Nintendos about 5, so timewise it's about right for a new console. Not that I'm in any hurry to upgrade but the best thing about a new console? The games for the last one go down to 4 for a tenner at Gamestation!
As for having consoles that can be upgraded, I wouldn't want to go down that route. Swapping hard drives is ok but anything like the ram pack on N64 will just divide and confuse the audience. It might be workable if the games still played regardless of your setup with maybe reduced graphics or physics for those that haven't upgraded but I'd rather not.
But as they say "necessity is the mother of invention" and when consoles are "maxed-out" thats when developers are forced to use their creativity and produce games that push the envelope in gameplay or an interesting graphical style - just look at the psuedo-3d graphics in Donkey Kong Country!
gideonseer on 21 Apr '11 said:
Wii 2 is gonna need, or at least should have, more than 512 RAM. I thought that's once of the things Crysis 2 developers complained about, that PS3 and Xbox360 didn't have enough? Don't know about Xbox 360, but I certainly don't think PS3 has reached anywhere near its full potential. I think there is so much more to come from it. If only multi-platform developers would give it time and attention instead of porting Xbox versions. Sony may have produced a technically very good console in PS3, but they seem to have also succeeded in making its harder to code for than Xbox. I do think Wii 2 will be first out the blocks, as Wii seems to have hit its peak and its all downhill from here.
Fr33Kye on 21 Apr '11 said:
I think a 2014 release date is wonderful. Developers would have dev kits around 2 years prior. I dont care what the battlefield devs or crytek say. I can live without there next beautiful but unimaginative shooter. Do games look bad? Ask yourself, seriously, do games look so bad that we need a new gen when smaller indie games are finding there way onto consoles? We are finally realizing that not every game has to be a $60 blockbuster,and making GREAT GAMES. Look at From dust, best physics i've ever seen and its in a psn/xbl game, Vanquish best particle effects, Lost Planet 2 best co-op, and LA Noire amazing facial animations that Quantic dream and remedy hope to transcend. So devs are still advancing in many areas on current gen consoles, but we should start a new gen for devs that only want advanced graphics? No. I think we'll see a rise in PS360 only games because they both have install bases over 50 million and are well documented. We are already seeing this with many games.
kmcroc on 21 Apr '11 said:
screw 2014 i say release a new Xbox for holiday 2012.
chjadu on 21 Apr '11 said:
or wii2 will bring ninteno into this gen so when sony/ms release new consoles their outdated straight away
Ryo_Hazuki4 on 21 Apr '11 said:
Thats nothing, THIS is what i want to be playing in 1080p realtime:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSRApMhs_-k
ste hicky on 21 Apr '11 said:
nah,no bahamut or alexander. rubbish
kiddin,looks sweet.
if power were no object though,i'd mame folks for this in game personally: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8u4apTp ... re=related
Noobsaibot on 21 Apr '11 said:
One thing that can be guaranteed is 100% backwards compatibility with this generation so, If Nintendo really did get a two year head start, the other two WONT catch up. Speaking of the other two, I still think the PS3 has enough to keep going 'til 2014 (Again, it would be stupid if Nintendo launch) but either way, MS need a new Xbox and quickly.
Nollog on 21 Apr '11 said:
The PlayStation 3 has 256 MB of XDR DRAM main memory and 256 MB of GDDR3 video memory for the RSX.
A console doesn't have much need for massive amounts of RAM like a desktop PC does.
boskersrevenge on 21 Apr '11 said:
I'm glad things are moving in this direction - I am not going to make any claims as people in here are nerd-raging enough
but I do hope my jaw drops with what's possible on the new Nintendo and that it pushes MS and Sony to step up a bit.
It's funny though, it'd be the second Sony console that I would miss out on. Got so much to play already that getting another console for the sake of it would be a waste for a handful of games that I can't already play and when I go Blu Ray 3D will probably end up with a bundled player, negating that excuse.
What would be fun is having a lead Nintendo platform again, it's be about 20yrs since the last one and a console generation with the modern equivalent of the Snes? Yes please!
veato on 21 Apr '11 said:
IMO 512MB RAM and an R700 (ATI 4xxx series card in PC terms) will not allow 1080p gaming on Wii 2.
TykerD3 on 21 Apr '11 said:
I can't wait until 2014 for a new Xbox. I really hope it comes out Nov 2012. That would make the current xbox 7 years old, which is enough for any generation.
The_Hun1 on 21 Apr '11 said:
it looks like the wii 2 will be just abit ahead in terms of performance from 360 and ps3, what with having a treble core cpu and ati graphics, looks nintendo have picked this spec to make a profit from the minute it comes out, after all, its fairly old tec anyway and as such won't cost much to make.
PS4 and xbox 720 will be 2014 at the earliest, watch out for them to maybe make a showing at the end of next year.
ste hicky on 21 Apr '11 said:
while i agree that the projected ram seems lacking,a friend of mine has an ati 4850 and can run the likes of mass effect 2,black ops,crysis 2,etc.. in 1080p with extra high textures at beyond 60fps.
as mentioned a while ago,my old dx10.1 compat' 3850 would skin a 360 without trying. what would a 4870 do?
veato on 21 Apr '11 said:
Which, as anyone will tell you, is the PS3's shortfall.
justforkicks101 on 21 Apr '11 said:
two 4870 1 GB cards, combine them onto one PCB and you have the R700. no one knows which member of the r700 family the rumours refer to.. it could be great or a bit pants.
im still sitting on the fence
veato on 21 Apr '11 said:
Really? http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cry ... 901-5.html
Minimum, average or maximum frame rate? What's the rest of his system specs? Why does this chart show Crysis 2 1920x1080 max detail and no AA and NONE of the setups listed hit a minumum or average 60fps?
BOYD1981 on 21 Apr '11 said:
I really hope the next consoles have analogue as well as digital for sound output so you can hook up a set of PC 5/7.1 speakers, they're so much cheaper than finding a home theatre system that has optical in.
veato on 21 Apr '11 said:
Exactly. The RV710 (4550/4350) has 80 SPUs and is a bit pants really whereas the RV790XT (4890) I expect would be a significant leap over the current gen consoles with 800 SPUs!
ste hicky on 21 Apr '11 said:
mmm,i may have the crysis one a bit out there: jfk101: how does crysis 2 run on your card?
i know the rest are done in your cards sleep. what about c2?
justforkicks101 on 21 Apr '11 said:
not bad, better than the first one anyhow. its still a rubbish game
Barca Azul on 21 Apr '11 said:
I can't wait. I still think this Gen has a lot to offer and most devs will be happy to use the existing tech for now and not have to create new engines.
Moorpheus on 21 Apr '11 said:
Really? Seems strange to me...
hi0marc on 21 Apr '11 said:
While the PS3 may just last until 2014, i cannot see the 360 making it that long in any circumstance.
Looking at it, if the two companies are in some sort of communication about release date then Sony must have the upper hand, with more consoles out there in the world and a more stable craft for development.
Having said that the Wii 2 will make a ridiculous sale, whether released near a PS4/720 or not.
nolim on 21 Apr '11 said:
2014 is way too long for this generation. I still say late 2012 is the sweet spot. If they continue to drag out the lifespan of the 360 and Ps3 console gaming is going to become very stale. It's only with the launch of a new generation that fresh IP's really get a chance to shine. Looks like it's time to upgrade my PC if I want to see any real innovation in the next few years.
AJDarkstar on 21 Apr '11 said:
The reason for this seems pretty obvious to me: Sony and Microsoft are all about raw power, and odds are they're biding their time until GPUs that can live up to the Epic tech demo are affordable enough, as they'll either not subsidise their next consoles, or they'll take a much smaller hit. This also allows them to continue to make more money out of their current consoles, as announcing a successor can itself be detrimental to sales, and won't affect their game output like it does Nintendo, as neither company actually makes games for their own hardware.
starvinbull on 21 Apr '11 said:
If the current generation lasts a while longer, developers will invest in new technology. If the current generation is just around the corner, all you'll get till then is more of the same. Think Black Ops and you'll have a good idea of what I mean.
Headsrinker on 21 Apr '11 said:
i reckon the best time to release next gen consoles would be xmas 2013. People always want something new. Thats why you get people moaning in these kind of forums about it, throwing all their toys out of the pram. 'I want it all and i want it now!!!!!!!!' Shut up.
kirankara on 21 Apr '11 said:
True , and not true . It's true if u mean yes overall that amount of ram
Is not enough to really utilise power of CPU , but them the 360's 512mb of unified isn't sufficient either , or if u mean that when approaching programming in a more traditional manner as used on the 360,and trying to port games, then it's not enough. However, if u are comparing to the 360 then it'd also not true, as it's not supposed to be programmed like that , and if utilised in intended manner it's sufficient to go toe to toe with 360, and then some .have a look at the following articles , But be warned they can get quite heavy reading
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=758390
http://www.kushan.biz/?p=24
http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/116 ... to-manage/
cult on 21 Apr '11 said:
We all know in our hearts that when microsoft or sony announce a new console(HD2) thats when the next 'next generation' war starts.
Nintendo can bring out their cost effective toy in the meantime but JUST WHO is going to buy it?
The casual gamer does not have the time for two unused consoles so it wont be the old wii crowd that will buy the wii2, the ability to play a current gen multiformat game in HD should not be seen as a new feature worthy of an upgrade!
Its the lack of major 3rd party ips that dates nintendo's system to the wrong side of nearly last gen, this hardware push by them is to get the current crop of franchises on to its hard drive before the programmers move onto the next gen of coding before completely forgetting about ninty ports.
For us 'core gamers' the 720 and PS4 will be offering us the MMO Battlefield 4 running better than PC with cross platform play and Call of Duty will be back up to 24 player with vehicles in Modern Black Ops 3.
The wii2 then like its dusty sibling now will offer you cut down experiences of its HD2 cousins which of course by that look (this) last gen.
The core of us on here would rather save our money towards either of the current HD console manufacturers next offerings in 2013-14 because its a step forward huge or large.
We will quibble over free and paid for online play but pay for subscriptions none the less.
All that matters is the ability to transfer our Gamertags/Gamenames to the future console and carry on playing.
See you in the future.
boskersrevenge on 21 Apr '11 said:
You seem to know a lot about nothing.
cult on 21 Apr '11 said:
^^
You do know nothing about a lot.
ste hicky on 21 Apr '11 said:
sweet! can i have a go?
we all know that with the wii2 being based on dx10.1 compat' shader model 4.1 and not the ancient dx9 compat 3.0 that the disparity in graphic techniques is going to be such that the likes of epic who want more power now will find it hard to look elsewhere. shaders are 90% of everything in this industry and nintendo will have the best on the market outside the pc.
this will lead to butchered 360/ps3 games as a gap akin to the wii and hd formats is opened up before everyones eyes and battlefield 3 not being gimped on nhd leads to much tears on rival formats as they are sank,day 1.
this in turn will lead to square debuting luminous on the format and an exclusive half life 3 reveal that will cause much kerfuffles at boardroom level sony/ms but ultimately their lack of action on the matter will come back to bite them in the arse as even though they'd love to compete,they're still on the drawing board debating whether to go the cheap route a la the wii and too busy naval gazing at this gens tech to move on.
gta 5 will launch as an nhd title looking twice as good as the other versions and people like me will benefit most. result.
apart from the (alleged,it's still rumour after all) 'gap' in shaders this is all fabrication. see,we can all do it.
Welsh Jester on 21 Apr '11 said:
Don't tell me wii 2 is going to be more underpowered than my 1 1/2 year old ATI 5870? seems a bit lame, thought they were shooting for better than 360 & ps3 specs this time. Then again.. suppose it just shows how far ahead PC tech is.
madmikeuk on 21 Apr '11 said:
People who are basing the performance "Project Café" on current consoles and PC gaming are wrong. To put things into perspective:
The PS3 lacks the power to output native 1080p for most games, and for similar reasons Microsoft restricts the ability to output native 1080p at all.
PC games cannot be optimised to hardware like console games can - this, combined with video resizing, is how consoles keep up with PC games despite the hardware not changing. They are also not optimised in hardware design for gaming like games consoles are.
PCs also have a lot of additional work to do over consoles - PC system software like Windows and Mac OS X is a lot more demanding than the simple software of the PS3's GameOS, Wii System Software and the Xbox 360 NXE Dashboard, and not fine tuned for real-time tasks like dedicated 3D gaming.
The Xbox 360 and PS3 still have remarkable graphical powers - this is despite the PS3's GPU being based on the NVIDIA GeForce 7800GT, and the Xbox 360's being based on the Radeon X1950XT - both cards which are now six years old. A Radeon HD 4000 series-based GPU could easily beat out either of these.
512MB is actually a step up if it is dedicated to the CPU, seeing as the PS3 has 256MB and the Xbox 460 shares 512MB between the CPU and GPU. However, to get textures as sharp as the ones on the PC, as well as 1080p native gaming, would also require a larger amount of GPU memory - probably at least 512MB also.
It seems likely that the console rumoured could well be the first home console where a significant proportion of retail games could be in native 1080p, if it actually exists. But, given the similarities to the Xbox 360's specs and the ones rumoured for "Project Café", I am doubting that this is the actual spec. Remember when everyone was saying the 3DS would have a Tegra 2?
caveman635 on 21 Apr '11 said:
i think that sony and microsoft need to hold back, and watch and see wat nintindo brings to the table. ms or sont wont release a console because they just released ther motion s**t last year. they want to get some play time out of that first. atleast sony will . we all know that kinect is a fail. move is both of those at its best. portal 2 just released steam on the ps3, so im sure thats going to expand very well. i mean just imagine counter strike, the best fps out there on the ps3. people will be saying, " halo who, gears what? i forgot about x box". so sony hold off we are good with wat we got. but this i do need to say and listen very closelt. SONY WHEN EVER YOU MAKE A NEW CONSOLE MAKE MORE LIKE THE PC IN THE ASPECT THAT YOU CAN UPGRADE THE HARDWARE. that will give atleast a 15 to 20 year life span. and possibly lower the hacker risk. manufacture it by you guys and keep the money rolling. theres a lil marketing for u sony take it it run.
flipper on 21 Apr '11 said:
Why do people keep calling it the 720?
that's NOT the name. Ridiculous.
The_Jaster on 22 Apr '11 said:
but it probably will be called a 720 & ps4 which is ridiculous, I really hope Sony change theirs a little to like Playstation: "something" (can't think of anything)
cartyavfc on 22 Apr '11 said:
Playstation something is a great name LOL!!
Wow my head hurts readin all those comments all i can see is numbers really wish i knew something about the hardware of these machienes i love, but i don't oh well.......... off to shoot some people on PSN.....Wait I cant cause it is friggin broke GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!
jtthegame on 23 Apr '11 said:
microsoft and sony are right we don't need new hardware out there at the mo.
KingPepper on 23 Apr '11 said:
I noticed everyone are talking about Microsoft & Sony & Nintendo, There is one thing that you all have not mentioned yet...........What if Apple come into the games industry with a console of there own, and ended up wiping the smiles off of the other 3 companies...............
kmcroc on 25 Apr '11 said:
After reading today that Nintendo plans to release a Wii 2 for 2012 & will have a playable prototype at E3 ,think it's time the other two console makers let go this gibberish talk of console extended life cycle & get going on their new console systems for release in 2012 . no need to let Nintendo enjoy a window of opportunity to sell a ton units like they did last gen. beside it' time for some new console tech ,graphics, plain & simple it time for new consoles. i expect Q4 2012 to be a season of mind blowing consoles.
kmcroc on 25 Apr '11 said:
First off if Jobs kicks the bucket , be prepared to say goodbye to everything Apple.
cause without Jobs that company is s**t. besides if Jobs thought that it was worth it for his company to enter the console market he would have done so already, also can you imagine the price tag on their console .
boskersrevenge on 25 Apr '11 said:
Nice try.
kmcroc on 25 Apr '11 said:
@boskersrevenge No need to know everything, just stating simple facts Jobs dies so does Apple. Jobs is the heart & soul of Apple, there is not one person capable of doing what he has done or in the fashion that he has done it. as for him & Apple venturing into the console market there is nothing stopping him from doing so ,but if he truly wanted to don't you think they would have done so in the industry's early stages.
The_Jaster on 25 Apr '11 said:
I love the confusion of that last post.
TheExpendable on 25 Apr '11 said:
ill be a drunken old man by then
dany__86 on 4 May '11 said:
Gaming will reach it s graphic peak when games are indistinguishable from todays movies.. and if u think that s too far away or not possible, remember back in 20 yrs if it was imaginable playing a game like GT5 or Battlefield 3 or any other current gen game.