Microsoft are now the aggressors, so launching second wont bother them.

Ps4 is what its all about

Wrong going last is the worst. If the PS4 is realsed BEFORE the 720 Sony will most likely be on the frontlines when it come's to third party support which is why PS3 did bad so they will make up for it.

We already know PS4 will most likely sell more if realeased first so yeah.

I bet my ass the basic tenor would be 100 percent switched if MS would have announced first. This thread is so full of unreflected posts it's annoying.

Launch date, not announce date, is what matters.

They are obviously confident on their strategy. I wouldnt be surprised if that rumor that pointed out to a summer release turned out to be true.

well let's be honest here...Sony pretty much took everyone by surprises with the PSMeeting. I honestly think MS wasn't prepared for such an early reveal from them...no one did

That said I think they will let the PSMeeting hype die down a bit before doing their showing (Around end of march or early april I think) so they can have the full attention they can get from media and gamers.

It can have pros and cons, and it also depends on how much about their next consoles MS and Sony are ready to reveal now.
Curious, though, because I can remember MS wanted to be second and Sony stated it preferred to be last... There must be on both sides some convoluted strategy, like the ones Mel Brooks liked to mock in "Get Smart".

Putting aside the notion of hype which is purely subjective, and hobbyists by far make the worst judges of things such as this. Sony wouldn't be unveiling now, because it gave them a competitive situational advantage, but because there is a strong financial incentive to do so. Sony doesn't have as strong a reputation as it once had, and it doesn't have near the kind of financial resources it once had. Unveiling in a slow news cycle will garner them attention that they would not have otherwise, but they will not enjoy the same kind of popular media attention that comes from a unveiling that took place during a major industry public event.

During such events there is far more media attention to be had, but the affections of that media are dearly contested, and like it or not. Even if some of you feel it is unwarranted. Microsoft would garner the vast majority of that attention. For no other reason then the products that they unveil at those settings have a strong track record of becoming smash hits with the public. Every Halo game release makes headlines. The Kinect unveiled during E3, became a massive holiday success story. The 360 itself is a major success story. As far as gaming is concerned Microsoft is a media darling. That it has been ages since Sony could think of itself as.

Where as Microsoft is a darling. Sony is the proverbial whipping boy. Think of the media coverage that Sony has garnered over the past few years. The first six months the PS3 was on the market it was just one long negative news cycle. That even major mainstream news outlets picked up on. Sony is somewhat in that kinds of news cycle with the sales of the Vita now. There were also the stories about one hundred million Sony accounts getting hacked. Their online network getting closed down for a month. Their stock prices plummeting, and their stock being rated as junk.

Basically the closer Sony gets to the spotlight the more likely it is that they end up getting burned. I know many argue that it is unwarranted, but that isn't really the point. Whether they deserve it or not. This is what tends to happen to Sony as of late. Every success goes unnoticed. Every failure becomes a unmitigated catastrophe. Sony just couldn't win for trying to tap into any of the media extravaganzas. They don't really stand a chance of not getting eclipsed by their rival Microsoft, and even if they could become the major headline. Chances are that it would get tied to their recent failures.

Unveiling so far away for the limelight is still going to get Sony some much needed free press, but it will not be the best kind of press. They will not become a story like they would with a major public event. A added benefit is that with nobody to be compared against. They keep the story on them, and more importantly on the message that they are going to try to convey. It is more like a surgical strike doing this. Then the carpet bombing that is going to show up in a few months time. Yes the latter is more impressive, and Microsoft will definitely garner more sales by being the ones that are likely to do that, but and I know I will get grief for saying this.

Sony's first job is just to get off on the right track, and that starts off by getting off on the right foot. Their goal cannot be to win the next generation. Their goal needs to be to develop core competencies. They fumbled the last time out with verbose, and altogether narcissistic public relations. They need to start rebuilding their public persona with a tight, and controlled messaging.

I personally expect Microsoft to unveil either just before E3, or during their public press conference itself. Which ever their development partners would prefer the most. Historically speaking Microsoft does very well with any unveiling it does during these time frames. So no I don't think they are at a disadvantage going later. I do however think there is a disadvantage to not unveiling side by side. They would have been able to deprive Sony of a great deal of media market share. Now even though Sony is going to get a smaller share of the media market. Microsoft cannot really do anything to interfere.

Without it looking petty, unsporting, or altogether belligerent. So they might not be able to touch the PS4, but I would expect them to go after the PS3 with new vigor, because the existence of the new console would provide leverage on the pricing front. Either encouraging Sony to sell the old console at a lower price, or derailing sales by suggesting that the console just isn't worth the asking price.

tomorrow tbh is just another day. to me what hardware sony or ms realease is irrelevant. show me what the software companies are up to. would xbox be where it is without bungie. would sony without naughty dog. get my drift. now if they show me a next gen 2k lol....