Despite rumors to the contrary, a Microsoft rep has confirmed that we won’t see the introduction of the Xbox 720 this year, and Sony has said it will be the last to introduce a new system.
Let’s be honest. If you ignore all the news, pretend all the hype is imagined, and search your feelings: is anyone really excited for the next Xbox or the PS4 yet? If this was an actual discussion and, ya know, not a written column, the answer would likely be a resounding no. That doesn’t mean people aren’t interested in the next generation of consoles and won’t buy them with the glee that only a hardcore gamer can experience, but are people really prepared to abandon the current generation to shell out hundreds of dollars on a new system, just because?
The Xbox 360 and the PS3 are both nearing the end of their life cycles, but that doesn’t mean that it is time to put them down then lie to the kids about it, telling them that you gave their Xbox 360 away to someone with anice farm. It is easy to get sucked into the excitement of a new product launch, but the release of a new system is something that needs to be handled delicately. If it is done too late, it could be a difficult road to recovery (looking at you, PS3). But if it is done too soon, it could be disaster.
Unlike the Wii, which is gasping along after a year spent stagnating (with a few exceptions like the recent Zelda game), the system is in bad need of an upgrade. Most Nintendo fans are keenly aware of this, and so the release of the Wii U is timely and makes sense. The possible rushed releases of a new Xbox followed shortly after by the PS4, would not.By the way, although Microsoft has been tightlipped on its next generation console and all the names floating around are just rumors (“The Loop” is another possible name), we are sticking with calling it the Xbox 720, partially because of the movie Real Steel. The Hugh Jackman flick was set a few years in the future, and featured a brief image of sign that read “Xbox 720.” Obviously this is nothing even resembling confirmation, but the odds are Microsoft had to at least ok the placement. It isn’t quite confirmation, but it isn’t a denial either. Game, set, and match, Microsoft.