In a recent interview video game analyst Michael Pachter stated that he thinks Microsoft will hold off on revealing their next generation Xbox until E3 in June.
There has been some speculation as to whether Microsoft will wait until E3 to reveal their new console or perform a mini-reveal months before like when they revealed the Xbox 360 on MTV in 2005. Pachter doesn’t believe this will happen.
Sony is holding their Destination Playstation event on February 20th and there is a good chance they reveal the next Playstation home console at the event. Pachter doesn’t seem to think Microsoft would respond until E3 if this happens, giving Sony the spotlight for a few months.
Pachter says:
“Microsoft will announce at E3, not before. I think they are on track to launch at the same time (October or November), although I think that Microsoft is far more ambitious about multimedia, intends to include a TV tuner, and has many more relationships with television content owners that must be worked out prior to launch. Expect Sony to own the spotlight until the first week in June. “
If the PS4 is revealed on February 20th it would surprise if Microsoft didn’t show off their next Xbox afterwards. Perhaps they think they have something awesome up their sleeve that will demand all the attention of gamers and the press when they eventually reveal it.
If Pachter is right (which he isn’t very often) then Sony would have a window of opportunity to convince consumers that the PS4 is what they should be saving up for this holiday season. They’d have three whole months to hype up their new machine before E3.
Then again this situation could benefit Microsoft if they do wait. Maybe Sony announces some less than pleasing features in the PS4 like no used game playback and if the consumer reaction to that decision is negative maybe Microsoft will opt against including that same feature in their next Xbox.
Or maybe Sony will announce a price or release date (not very likely but you never know) on February 20th. This would give Microsoft months of planning to plot an effective marketing strategy for their next Xbox based on the pricing and release date Sony presumably announced.
I’m not sure what will happen, and Pachter isn’t right very often but he brings up an interesting scenario where Microsoft doesn’t even flinch when the next-generation Playstation is announced in a week or so. If Sony does reveal the PS4 at Destination Playstation on the 20th do you think Microsoft should pull the trigger and reveal the next Xbox sooner than planned or wait it out?
Pachter: Sony to 'own the spotlight' until the next gen Xbox is revealed at E3,
