Xbox 720 and PS4 almost a given for 2013 say analysts

The Xbox 720 and PS4 (or whatever they end up being called) are all but a given for release in 2013 – that’s according to two industry analysts.

“[There’s a] high probability that PlayStation 4 and/or Xbox 720 will be out in late 2013. Based on various conversations we had at the conference, we believe it is all but a given that either Microsoft or Sony or both will launch their new consoles next year,” Sterne Agee’s Arvind Bhatia told Gamesindustry.biz. “Publishers [are] excited about PS4 and Xbox 720. Publishers seem to be a lot more excited about the potential for the next consoles from Microsoft and Sony than they are about Nintendo Wii U.”

Bhatia also believes that the transition to the new hardware won’t be as hard as publishers found when moving to this current generation.

“Historically, the console transition period is tough for everyone in the industry. We expect that to be the case next year, albeit to a lesser degree than in the past. This is based on our conversations with industry players that suggest that the technology in the next-gen consoles will be simpler to develop for compared to the complications for the PS3 and 360 roughly six years ago.”

RW Baird’s Colin Sebastian also expects a late 2013 launch for the next consoles from Microsoft and Sony.

“Next-gen platform details [are] slowly emerging,” stated Sebastian. “Based on our conversations at E3, we continue to expect a late-2013 launch for next-gen Microsoft and Sony platforms. While there will likely be improvements to processing power, speed, and graphics on the new platforms, the most significant innovations may be tight integration with online services, as well as flexible revenue models, such as Free-to-Play, Micro-transactions (services model).”

It does look like 2013 is the one we’re waiting for. Are you excited about what’s next from Sony and Microsoft, or could you wait another few years?