With tidbits of information now begin to trickle out both officially and unofficially from various third-parties concerning the onward marching next-generation of consoles, a spate of reports over the weekend suggest that something more concrete from the major players must now be looming. According to reports which purport to derive information from insiders, we learn today that is apparently readying for an 2 debut stateside at the end of 2005 - with following just weeks later in late October or early November. A release in North American and possibly even this year has been conjectured for some time, however no one really expected a Euro debut so early. Anonymous sources are now even discussing a rumoured launch party of grand scale in London to mark the debut.

Indeed, this is enforced further by the lack of first-party Xbox games on the schedule currently, and word from firms like that current and next-gen titles would be released side by side at the close of 2005. Many believe Microsoft may be pushing the next cycle in console evolution on gamers too soon, and have been vocally dismissive of Redmond's aggressive stance. Of course, Microsoft refused to comment on this speculation, and with a GDC unveiling already denied, we expect to wait until May's E3 for further details. More speculation is expected soon, of course.

By Luke Guttridge