yearly releases of games like madden and fifa were around before this gen

secondly why do you believe new consoles have to be shown for new franchises to be done?

Sony needs to recoup some losses first and probably wants to 1 up on hardware again.
Microsoft might be waiting to see the reaction to the WiiU controller before deciding to focus on Kinect 2.0 or their own tablet controller.
I'll be waiting for a budget version of the new NVidia GTX 680 in the meantime.

Anyway it doesn't matter what MS or Sony show when Nintendo pulls out that HD Zelda render again.
Add some HD Mario working with the WiiU controller and nobody cares about a Samaritan tech demo.

Smart.

Nintendo fans alone would make WiiU a guaranteed sell-out this year, so 2012 will be a great year for the cheaper PS360 as well. They'd be foolish to jeopardize what Halo 4, The Last of Us, LBP Karting and possible price cuts will do for them by showing much on a new console that won't release this year.

Prerendered target videos and/or tech boasting to detract some attention from WiiU is the most we'll get, IMO.

Really hard to say, honestly, the market seems pretty unpredictable and is dependent on how the economy turns out, while it is improving, I don't think MS or Sony want to ask people anything between $300 to $700 right now for a new console without a really good hook. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if they announced a new console that was being released in 2013 minimum.

It's smart if they have a ton planned for this year and the next. If there are no new consoles, I expect a hefty amount of game info at E3.

I will remain unconvinced of anything they say until E3 is over and done with.

I'd still be cautious about believing press releases 3 hours before their conferences, never mind 3 months...

I expect Sony to announce a slimmer PS3 for a lower cost either at E3 or TGS

I think they should at least tease something, or else Nintendo's Wii U will get all the attention.

Showing consoles now would slow sales of the current gen. Waiting until 2013 and having a relatively short wait until launch could create alot of excitment. Guess we will know how smart it is when they show the product.

Just hope there are some good games in the plac eof consoles this year.....

Exactly, just like what was shown at Nintendo's e3 presentation last year except the gaming journalists didn't lap it up.