Saw this over on NeoGaf
We talk to people. It's part of our job. And lately we're not hearing any big bombshells about the next generation of game consoles, but we're hearing the same buzz we've been hearing all year: the next generation of Xbox and PlayStation are right around the corner.
If you talk to people about the next-gen games at, oh, I don't know, a major gaming trade show or a major gaming awards show, the persistent impression given is that these new systems will be powerful. The old comparison I heard—and saw backed up by a solid report on IGN—was that the new Xbox would be eight times more powerful than the 360. That's old reporting, from earlier in the year. We've also heard that Durango is roughly as graphically capable as the second-most powerful PC on the market today, which, yes, is quite the indirect statement. The chatter we hear is that Durango and Orbis are close in power to each other or at least both in the same league past the current gen. Much may have changed since then and, as any Wii U owner can tell you, it's damn hard to assess how powerful a system is even when playing the first batch of games a developer made for it. (Or don't ask a Wii U user... ask an Xbox 360 user to compare 2005 360 launch games Kameo: Elements of Power or Perfect Dark Zero to 2012's Halo 4).
The vibe I get when I hear about Durango is that Microsoft is on the mark. Sony appears to inspire less confidence, though I've had a hard time nailing down why and discerning how much lost confidence is due to the on-and-off troubles of the PlayStation 3 and the struggles of the Vita vs. how much lost confidence is due to any problems looming for PS4. What I do know is that confidence is high that the next Xbox will be out in time for next Christmas. Confidence is less high that Sony will pull off the same feat, though they want to.
