If this new is true, PS3 will easyly surpass X360!! kkkkkkkkk

M$ saw the billions that Nintendo made from the casuals and wants a piece of that pie.  That will be there push for the next 2 years I believe.  I don't think there will be a new xbox until 2014 (possibly 2013).

Being that Holiday 2011 will be the sixth anniversary of the XBox 360, I would put the odds of a Q4 2011 release of the XBox 360 at 50%, the odds Microsoft will release a new console before the end of 2012 at 90%, and Microsoft will certainly have released a new XBox before the end of 2013.

Starting Q4 2011, because they have been on the market for a full 5 years, the negative backlash for Nintendo or Sony to release a new console becomes minimal; and, as much as people will claim the first mover advantage "doesn't exist", the XBox 360's sales performance (relative to the original XBox) can be attributed in part to being out before the competition. There is a significant risk (for Microsoft) of allowing Sony or Nintendo to release their systems early because there is a significant chance that either company could produce the "must have" system, and there is very little chance of growing their userbase if they release a console 12 to 18 months after the dominant console has been released.

No chance that 2012 will hold the next XBox. There are several reasons why...

1. Have you noticed that no matter what, if Sony or Microsoft even sneeze, the gaming news knows about it because they have a dozen insiders who run off to tell anyone and anything to the news sites? So far, there has been no patents, no posts about needing technical people, no designs for new technology...absolutely nothing that has been leaked so far, despite the fact that it almost always ends up leaked.

2. The 360 is still making a mint for them. By now, they are already using technology that is cheap enough that they are actually making money off each console. Microsoft is a business. As long as their product is still selling a lot, they're not going to touch that, for fear that they think their money train will crash. Just as with Sony, it would be monumentally stupid to suddenly switch gears and make another new console, yet again with technology that will probably cost them more than the console sells for, when the first is still selling well and will probably do so easily for quite a long time.

3. Where, exactly, are they going to go with the next XBox console? 1080p, like the PS3? Sure, they could do that. 3D? Sadly, that will probably be added too. Toss a Blu-Ray player in there? Could work. But pretty much everything else? Not a lot to shoot for now. They've basically topped out the capabilities without getting into neural uplinks that actually put you into the game. We've reached an echelon of technology that we can see individual eyelashes on a character's face and probably how they interact with a wind coming from a specific direction. Realistic clothing, once considered one of the single hardest things to really do well, is now done in spades. Kinect is a step they're taking. Until they figure out the next one, there's not going to be a new console from anyone out there (except maybe Nintendo).

Microsoft normally keep pretty stum on future titles especialy 2012 so I read nothing into that. Also this not the last gen, something has to happen first to make them look toward a 2012 date. Currently they are actually concentrating on growing its product not killing it off. I will not be suprised if we find that the 360 is still Microsoft prime console going into 2014. This generation seems more about evolution and modularity than it is about true revolution. 3 to 4 years would probably fit with 3D gaming which is probably the only real new tech that may make a difference the days of the polygon wars are pretty much over.

whoa whoa whoa... They're making alan wake 2? Didn't sales put them off?

I am just glad I own more than the 360.

Still for now  REACH is bad ass, but in 2011 I will once again be killing my PS3. Also I do hope it comes in 2012, but this kind of speculation is just a time waster.

I wouldn't mind a new console in 2012 . The 360 will be entering its eighth year at the end of 2012 .Something new and exciting would be nice...

This. I also believe many MS first party studios are working on games for Kinect.

I can bet with anyone that by the end of 2012 MS, Sony and Ninty will have released their next gen consoles.

If it isn't clear for you for now, just wait until February or March to see how the whole thing will seem to hit the wall at once... comparisons showing all the consoles and handhelds down year on year some 30%-60% and widespread dismay here at the forums, I can picture it already. The market reacting positively to the 3DS will only make things worse for this gen.

Gears 3, Uncharted 3 and Skyward Sword will be the last huge bullets this gen. Expect Sony, Ninty and MS to focus on their next gen platforms after that. Come on, you know they will.