News: Microsoft to reveal next Xbox at E3 2012?

There have been further reports that Microsoft will be unveiling a successor to the Xbox 360 at next year's E3. BGR reported that "A source with knowledge of Microsoft’s plans within the company’s Entertainment and Devices Division has confirmed with BGR that Microsoft intends to unveil its next-generation Xbox console at E3 2012 next summer". It is also claimed that the new console, which I refuse to refer to as the "Xbox 720", has been in development since 2006. There seems little to doubt in this claim as the phrase "in development" would almost certainly cover the initial forays into R&D a studio would make long before any concrete plans to a successor would even be considered, see Nintendo's claims that it had had the Wii U controller in development "for several years".

Interestingly, this follows another source's claim that Crytek, having purchased what remained of defunct Nottingham studio Free Radical (itself made up of former Rare employees) is developing Timesplitters 4 as a launch title for the new console. The UK-based outfit's previous titles in the Timesplitters series were well-received and any further titles in the series, present-generation or next, could only be viewed as a good thing for both gamers and the UK industry.

[Source: BGR; Eurogamer]