Adam Barnes
Sony might have gone early with the announcement of next-gen, but that hasn't affected Microsoft's next-gen approach.
Published on Apr 26, 2013 Microsoft has finally announced that the next Xbox is coming, but there was a distinct lack of interest from a large portion of our readers - had Sony's PS4 dulled the effect of the next Xbox announcement? "Sony’s early announcement was a surprise to us all," said EEDAR's Jesse Divnich, "but I doubt it had any material impact on when Microsoft planned to announce their next hardware. We’ll never truly know, of course." When asked if Microsoft's decisions might have altered due to the PS4 announcement, Divnich didn't believe so. "It’s never too little too late for Microsoft. They are the incumbent. Microsoft operates at its own pace and I don’t think the PS4 announcement has fundamentally changed their next-generation strategy." As for Sony's PS4 announcement denting the excitement of the Xbox 720, Divnich doesn't believe the importance of the Xbox 720 has been affected. "All major hardware unveils are important. We never forget them and they act as the catalyst to driving awareness and purchase intent ahead of the official launch." But what can we hope to see at the Next Xbox reveal in May? "Well, we can bet that they will unveil their next home console and their top level strategy on why the next Xbox console is the future of gaming. Otherwise, it is difficult to predict what exactly will be shown." Divnich added: "I’d imagine if we looked at the Sony press conference and take note of missing major publishers/developers/games, that some of them sustained any announcement and were waiting for Microsoft’s conference." Though Divnich didn't suggest any names, it's worth noting that EA was completely missing from Sony's PS4 reveal, and the likes of Call Of Duty - which hasn't been subtle about its Xbox 360 preference over the course of the generation - wasn't even mentioned. "I’d imagine that Microsoft unveil will be a lead into E3," said Divnich, "where they will provide greater detail on the console. It’s a solid strategy and it gives them some time to adjust their E3 presentation to reflect the sentiment coming out of the big unveil." We've no doubt that Microsoft will have plenty to show, but with all the always-on internet requirement rumours flying around the damage might already be done.
