Frank Gibeau, the EA Labels President, not only claims to know when the next generation of consoles from Sony and Microsoft are set to be released but also what they will be titled, although he is not at freedom to reveal either. What a tease…
The day that Sony and Microsoft announce their next generation of home consoles seems to draw ever closer as yet another hint has been dropped by a publisher who claims to have the inside scoop on both products but as usual can only give hints and indications instead of concrete facts and dates.
Frank Gibeau is one of the more senior employees in the publishing giant, Electronic Arts, and apart from confirming that he has seen both next generation consoles, he also expects both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox 720 to be released around this time next year.
The senior executive began by explaining how the current generation had matured and that meant that the manufacturers would want something new to take over before the consoles go into decline.
Gibeau said, “We’re into the sixth or seventh year now of this generation of hardware and so it’s a mature market. In terms of (software sales) fatigue, I consider it more of a mature market, a stable market.”
That is the point where he dropped a vague hint as to the release of the next-gen consoles when he said, “The new hardware is going to be coming out in about a year’s time, so we’re right around this period in time when the market’s going to slow down and then you have a new game changer coming with all new technology, all new hardware, and another growth period.”
It makes sense from a business point of view but his claim gave no indication as to when the manufacturers would announce their respective consoles and unveil it to the world.
There was set to be more teasing and suspense as Gibeau also confirmed that he knew what they were going to be titled but reminded himself and everyone else that he was not at freedom to disclose that bit of information. He said, “I don’t know what they’re calling them, I’m under non-disclosure so I can’t comment too much about what they’re specifically doing.”
Which makes one wonder, does Mr. Frank Gibeau enjoy teasing and tormenting the gaming public or is he simply building up hype for both the products, which one can bet their house and entire family on that EA is currently developing a number of titles for.
But what about the reader; are they sick of all these half-announcements that don’t give anything of use away or are they enjoy the build up of suspense? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.