Danne my idea of spring is simply because Sonys leak indicated that they would launch within 18 months of August 2011. Microsoft has stated they will not launch last and I know they are aware Sony is rushing as fast as possible to get the PS4 to the market. Sony has stated that they will not launch late, now earlier reports were that Sony would likely launch last new statements indicate Sony believes they will launch first.
Considering comments by both Microsoft and Sony I cannot see them giving Nintendo a year head start. If Sony launches in 2013 they are going to want to launch earlier then Microsoft likewise Microsoft will want to beat Sony to the market.
I was 75% sure that Microsoft was launching this fall. Recent statements from Epic and Microsoft have led me to begin questioning that prediction. Microsoft had initial kits for Nextbox in 2008 I am very confident they had a nearly complete Dev kit already last E3. But Epic made statements suggesting Microsoft was over hauling the systems graphical capabilities the kits believed to be in developers hands is 6x the power of 360 according to Epic that is not sufficient for Unreal4. Epic told a story of when they got Microsoft to upgrade the 360's capabilities at last minute this generation. It apparently cost Microsoft a billion to upgrade and delayed the hardware kits.
I now think Microsoft might be changing their launch strategy and delaying the hardware release so they can adjust it to run Unreal4 as well as use some of Nintendo's tech (copy). But even then Microsoft will be in a hurry to bring the hardware to North America.
I find it highly unlikely that Microsoft or Sony with wait a year if it is at all possible to launch any earlier!
-JC7
"In God We Trust - In Games We Play " - Joel Reimer
