from the talk I have heard they pushed their announcement back if anything.

Sony forced MS to show their next Xbox early by making them delay the reveal for 1 month? I think Sony had their hand forced if anything.

I think Sony was surprised by Sony.

They didn't even have a final hardware box to show off.  If anything the whole thing made me feel like Sony higher ups forced ahead the reveal to imrpove stock price and get a big revel before the financials were reported.  Chances are the PS4 wasn't originally meant to be revelead for a few months.  "Microsoft going first"and all.

So yeah Microsoft was surprised.

That said, no i don't think it rushed Microsoft.

My opinion might change however if THEY don't have a box to show.

Whatever they do, people will find a way the spin the story. If they announced it late then people would claim MS was making changes to their hardware because they weren't expecting Sony to make such a powerful console, and if they announced it early then people would claim MS was forced to show the console early.

I think they have chosen a great a time to show it cause May is neither too late or too early and its so close to E3. The PS4's announcement was way too early and already the hype has died down a lot.

although they said this will be more about the people behind the console and the vision I do expect hardware to be shown (hello Mr. Nelson) and atleast 2 games in addition to CoD

Sony Fanboys are going to say yes Microsoft fanboys will say no.

I think it did put a bit of pressure on them, because it is a competitive business and both companies have to be on par. But I don´t think Microsoft sheduled their release because of Sonys announcment at this particular time. I am pretty sure they did it because of the E3. So when E3 comes they will be able to profit from the hype the new Box will generate. While the PS4 hype is depleting. They sheduled their date really smart imo.

Thread title:

Was MS forced to show the next Xbox early by Sony?
proof:
MS conference was rescheduled from late April to late May which indicates that MS is not ready.

Maybe it is just me, but pushing the conference to a later date does not confirm MS was forced to show it earlier. It is the other way around.

And as others have said before, the Xbox 360 was announced in May as well.

Everybody and their grandmoms expected a new console reveal in March / April this year. Even here at VGC. Sonys reveal was only 2 - 3 weeks earlier than the most common prediction on a forum. I doubt MS was totally surprised by this.

Microsoft doesn't want Sony beating them to a launch. If Sony launches with them or ahead of them MS has their hands full. The reports about Sony's PS4 were that they were ahead of Microsofts development cycle and they had been finished with it since January. They didn't show off the box for a reason. Sony called out Microsoft a while ago, showing they were ready. They told Microsoft to unveil their console first and Microsoft didnt respond. Once the PS4 was semi-revealed Microsoft finally showed signs of movement. 

Historically Microsoft has ALWAYS unveiled their consoles in May. So no.

And Sony simply announced "too" early. Vaporware console proved this. Them announcing early had a double edged sword. They tried to get a head start on "mind share" but it also made people more "curious" as to what Microsoft have been working on.

No.21 of may is not early!just a few weaks befor e3!