Next Gen: March Reveal? Possible $350-$400

There's been some tussle in that bloviated rumor-corpse that's been festering about the next gen consoles for awhile now. As we get our toes into the new year it's not really a surprise. This is it. This is the year where the next gen consoles will -goddamned finally- be announced with the outlook of a 2013 Holiday release looking more and more likely.

We've had some discussion during our podcasts about how the big names would go about this. Surely they wouldn't make a major announcement like that at E3, or any other traditional convention for that matter, for fear that their time in the spotlight could be easily stolen by the next conference to come along. E3 is a giant orgy of gaming and when they announce the new consoles, both Microsoft and Sony will want to be the only ones experiencing the action.

It's now being reported that the February edition of Game Informer backs up this theory, stating that both companies are planning "special Apple-style press conferences" to occur in March. Microsoft absolutely loves doing this type of thing, with Sony being a bit less experienced at it. Of course there's some debate whether Microsoft, for all of the energy they put in, is actually good at it.

Beyond that, there is also more rumeration as to the price-point of the new systems. Baird Equity Research spoke to Gamindusty Biz after prying themselves away from CES this year to announce a possible price point of 350-400 dollars for the new consoles -depending of course on which version you get- based on spending time at CES  "with a number of companies involved in video game development and distribution." I'm guessing they took into account internal components, production, R&D and everything else that goes into the foetid stew out of which a new consoles arises and devised their number. I'm sure they're also a lot smarter than me so who am I to argue?

$350-400 sounds about right, however, and I think anyone hoping for a $250 version of either console right out of the gate are getting their hopes up. Of course, on the other hand, neither company is about to make another $599 mistake.

Baird is also making predictions of a release window as well, stating that the PS4 will most probably be released in October and the Xbox 7292410410497 being released in November. Of course this goes against a few things we reported on last year, when common perception was that Microsoft would beat Sony out of the gate...but only time will tell now.

As for internals here's what Baird had to say directly:

"Our checks suggest that next-generation console hardware will be largely built from 'off the shelf' high-end PC components, along with hybrid physical/digital distribution models, enhanced voice controls and motion sensing (Kinect integration with every Xbox), and broad multi-media capabilities," he detailed.

"Moreover, a PC-based architecture (Intel chips in the case of Xbox) should have a number of advantages over custom-developed silicon: for one, the learning curve for software developers will be shorter than completely new technology. Second, the cost of production and retail price points should be lower than prior console launches.

"Third, it will be easier to build online services around PC chip architecture, including flexible business models (free-to-play, subscriptions) and multi-media (over the top) content offerings. For Microsoft, this design will also allow for more integration with Windows 8 and Windows Mobile devices,"

No big surprises there, honestly. The idea that the internal components will lead to a shorter learning curve, with the added benefit of the streamlined tools that an engine like Unreal 4 offer, means that we might be entering a much less expensive development world in 2013 and beyond. That's good for everyone.