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With Sony Set to Reveal Playstation 4, When Will Microsoft Respond?

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I guess Kazuo Hirai was wrong, or at least just being sneaky. The Sony CEO made news in past weeks after saying that he would wait to unveil Sony's next console until Microsoft showed their hand first:

"Why go first, when your competitors can look at your specifications and come up with something better?"

Well, with it all but completely confirmed that Sony will be showcasing their next generation console at a special event on February 20th (henceforth called the 'PS4' for simplicity's sake), that seems like it's not going to be the case.

There's little point speculating about what exactly the new system will look like. Hardware specs have been rumored for a while now, but we should be content to simply wait three weeks and find out 100% true information instead of guessing at it. The idea is that with this early announcement, Sony will have the console actually released by Holiday 2013.

So, where would this leave Microsoft? Many assumed that this would end up being an E3 battle where Sony and Microsoft debut new consoles within days or even hours of each other. But if Sony's doing it early, what will Microsoft do to try and take the wind out of their sails (or sales, as it were)?

I believe Microsoft should in fact wait until E3. With Nintendo's WiiU already released and Sony's PS4 announced months earlier, Microsoft will allow themselves to be the talk of the show as everyone eagerly awaits the next generation Xbox. Nintendo and Sony may debut new games that get people talking (and they should), but Microsoft will have the luxury of being the one press conference everyone is looking forward to for the entire show.

That might make you wonder what advantage Sony has by making this announcement so early. Well, I can see the logic there as well. The announcement of any new console is a huge deal for the industry, and gamers and journalists alike will all stop and take notice whether it's happening at E3 or not.

By premiering the PS4 now, Sony gets to be the talk of the town pretty much until E3. Chances are in this February announcement they won't spill ALL their beans about the new system, and they'll likely have much more information at E3 itself. This way, they get to be talked about for nearly the entire year, not just the last six months if Microsoft waits until E3 to debut the new Xbox.

Or, I suppose, Microsoft could try and hamstring them by staging their own event as early as March or April. That would cut down on buzz for Sony, and they too could expand on the announcement later in the year.

Of course, ultimately it's going to come down to which system has the better capabilities and games that will drive sales, but the initial presentation of the product is important as well, as is creating a news cycle to give you the most amount of attention and your opponent the least. Sony went back on their strategy of letting Microsoft go first, and now we'll see how it plays out for them.