Inside sources seem to be indicating that the next generation of consoles will be hitting in 2012. While the Wii U has already been confirmed as a Holiday 2012 release, new evidence seems to be pointing towards the next generation of Microsoft and Sony consoles also hitting in 2012.
One source is claiming that Ubisoft Montreal is hard at work on ‘target boxes’ based on the intended specifications of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 successor. According to the rumor, Ubisoft’s teams are working on PCs containing off-the-shelf components provided by Microsoft, and that several other major developers, including a few Electronic Arts studios are also in possession of these target boxes. Rumor also has it that AMD is providing the GPU for the next-generation of Microsoft console.
As expected, Ubisoft’s representative has given a flat ”No comment” to inquiries on the subject.
Sony will not be left behind as well, as Next Gen BIZ reports that Sony has started having its major first-party studios shift focus to new PlayStation. The rumor is that the PlayStation 4 would also debut alongside the Wii U and Xbox 720 (reportedly codenamed the “Loop”) during the Holiday 2012 release window.
This current console generation has already lasted two years longer than normal console cycles, so it really shouldn’t be any surprise that the next generation would begin in 2012, even though most estimates placed the next-gen for 2013 and even as late as 2014.
