NEWS - Friday, February 1, 2013
New Xbox Shipping This Holiday
The next PlayStation will be unveiled later this month, shown at this year’s E3 and then launched this holiday where it will compete with the next Xbox, sources familiar with the console tell Polygon.
The information was provided to Polygon prior to last night’s news of a Feb. 20 PlayStation Meeting in New York to "see the future." The Wall Street Journal is also reporting that sources have told them the console will come out this holiday, competing with the next Xbox.
Sources familiar with the Microsoft console tell Polygon that Microsoft, while already aware of Sony’s launch timing, plans to hold its own announcement this spring, months after Sony’s unveiling. A variety of form-factors for Microsoft’s new console, we’re told, are already being focus tested.
Both next generation consoles will focus on expanding their reach beyond core gaming to include more entertainment and social aspects, according to our sources. That could include, we’re told, a subsidized version of the Xbox that serves as both a gaming platform and a cable box, though agreements with cable companies have yet to be finalized. Last year, The Verge reported that Microsoft was also working on a subsidized low-cost alternative to its next-gen console.
Microsoft has already experimented with subsidized Xbox 360s, offering discounted consoles to those willing to pay for a two-year Xbox Live membership.
We have reached out to both Microsoft and Sony for comment and will update this story when they respond.
Source: http://www.polygon.com
