GameStop CEO Paul Raines doesn't expect both Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4 to launch in 2013.

While Christmas 2013 releases for both consoles have been rumoured, the boss of the biggest specialist games retailer in the world told Polygon that the latest whispers he's heard suggest Microsoft and Sony will enter the next gen race at the different times.

"This week, I'm getting a lot of rumors that are very interesting about 2013," Raines said. "We have not been expecting two more consoles in 2013.

"We're expecting Wii U this holiday, another one next year, and another one in '14. These rumors change every week, but we're hearing more about next year."

Xbox 360 launched a full year before PS3, a factor many feel has greatly contributed to the success of Microsoft's console, and Sony has admitted it would be "undesirable" to let Xbox 720 get a significant head start on PS4.

However, SCE America CEO Jack Tretton said in June that quality is more important than getting to market first, stating: "We've never been first, we've never been cheapest, it's about being best."

EA Labels president Frank Gibeau suggested last week that Xbox 720 and PS4 are due to launch "in about a year's time". More recently, he labelled next gen consoles the company's currently making games for "spectacular".

And Oskari Hakkinen, head of franchise development at Remedy, said last month that the next gen consoles his studio's also developing for represent "a quantum leap" from those currently available.

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Ouya will launch in 2013 so no X720 or PS4 until 2014; Nintendo gets two christmas of advantage.

Given the current economic climate, and the situation at Sony internally. I have found myself leaning towards this very conclusion myself. Sony seems to have far too many concerns as of this time to be marshaling resources for a new console in a future that is very uncertain in the short term. Sony seems to need to finish restructuring, and it is in dire need of a global economic turn around. Currency exchange rates, slow downs in Europe, massive layoffs, and a number of unprofitable years. Speak volumes about Sony's readiness to invest in a new console generation.

That isn't to say this would necessarily be bad news. For console warriors on a certain side it may be depressing, but a delay may be more beneficial then harmful. It might allow Sony to deliver a better product to market, and a longer development cycle would offer a more meaningful library at launch, or give the PS3 a better tail wind then would otherwise be the case.

I think I need to see something in the realm of financial proof that Sony could afford to bring a new console to market next year. Before I will believe it is even a remote possibility. It isn't that Sony would necessarily lose a lot of money on a new console, or that it couldn't make money on a new console. The real question is does Sony have the resources to front a new console. I need to see where Sony is going to get the three to four billion to launch a new console. I am talking about what they need to spend before they sell a single unit.

Expecting is not knowing. Both Microsoft and Sony will release their console in 2013. They will not give Nintendo a two year head start.

It's not Sony. And its still a rumor.

http://semiaccurate.com/2012/09/04/microsoft-xbox-next-delay-rumors-abound/

It won't cost Sony $3-4bn to launch the PS4. 

EDIT - And.... a lot of their PS4 R&D costs will have already been incurred by now.

@Esmicksee

How I reached my estimate.

1) Five million launch units at three hundred dollar cost per unit components, and manufacturing $1.5b
2) Accessories a one to six cost ratio, or fifty dollars worth of accessories per launch unit $250mil
3) Game development two top tier, and five low to mid tier titles for the launch. $200mil
4) Advertising/Marketing Global commercial/print/web/events/promotions $200mil
5) Data infrastructure facilities, networking, licensing, servers, security, software, and bandwidth $200mil
6) Distribution/supply chain/repair/tech support/misc associated services facilities and staff $100mil
7) Margin for error cost overruns/ hardware issues/ calamities $.5b (Yes Sony absolutely needs a cushion this big)
8) Another word for R&D is the bullshit someone pulls out of their ass to make the numbers work $0.00

That is entirely conservative, and entirely in line with launching a new console. Three billion dollars is really the safe low end bet regardless of the manufacturer. Before you bitch about number seven I have two examples for the current generation. The Red Ring of Death due to poor quality control, and the manufacturing shortfalls of the BluRay drives in the PS3, and the Cell processors. Both caused significant cost overruns for both competitors, and you have to allow for such things with any major undertaking. Twenty percent of projected cost is really a fair allowance.

It is really the old axiom about anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Which is why you need that much cash up front before you start the ball rolling. Since you need to get to the end. You don't want to get half way there, and find the cash you expected would come through doesn't. It wouldn't do any manufacturer any good to be a couple months from launching a console with games. Only to find out that the money for the advertising isn't there, or that you cannot afford the staff, or resources to make the whole thing run.

Anyway it is conservative, and isn't allowing for anything truly ambitious on the part of Sony. There are really a lot of things that Sony could do to drive up costs, but not much to be done to drive them down. Welcome to the console market it costs a lot of money to play.

I could be the only one this skeptical.. seems to me there arent any consoles being released next year. It wasn't easy for gamers to ADOPT NEW and EXPENSIVE hardware in 05-06; to release new future-proof systems they'd be competing with ...themselves.

#8 is the reason why you don't understand what you are talking about. The cost to develop the PS4 is already long into their books, they don't build this stuff overnight. They have to hold meetings to determine what the system will be, what it will do, what it is made of, what it looks like, among many other factors. They need to arrange discussions with tech manufacturers, create design schematics, do extensive testing on the devices and several prototypes to ensure quality and realiability. Aside from the cost directly associated with the physical product all of the man hours need to be paid and over the course of years adds to a large sum of money, and yes it takes years. Sony has been well involved in the development process of the PS4. To contrast Microsoft had a leaked document from 2010 outlining thorough preliminary concepts for the Xbox 3. A new console essentially has at least 3 years of planning.

If you think that Sony doesn't have the money in order to finance a product that will be made for the purpose of turning a profit and in an industry where they have a proven record of accomplishing return on investment than you haven't looked into this far enough. Sony is a multi-billiion dollar company, they go through large sums of expenses and revenues and release dozens of new hardware products every year. They will release the PS4 when they find it primed and ready for release. Their entire manufacturing and development process will be geared toward reaching what they determine an ideal launch date which is still far enough on the horizon that they can choose to delay it further or not. Sony would be making a huge mistake if they were to not be concidering spending money on the next generation of home consoles by now regardless of their financial standing. If need be they would finance its development as their gaming division would prove to be self liquidating, especiallly if they made it while knowning it was a financed console and have highlighted gaming as one of the main cores of their business moving forward.

Essentially this is what I was getting at. Sure, from the drawing board to 6 months post-launch the costs will total in the billions, but it's not as if it's a big one off sum that Sony may or may not be able to afford.