Major Nelson posted a countdown clock on his blog this morning (complete with milliseconds, though we’re not sure those are really necessary) counting down to June 11th, the first official day of E3 2013.
The clock counts down to the starting day of E3 which is not likely when Microsoft will unveil its console. If history repeats itself, the console launch will be the day before, as Microsoft usually holds its press conference on Monday, one day before the start of E3. Sony usually follows Microsoft’s morning conference with an evening variant of their own, and Nintendo follows the next morning with theirs.
Of course, this isn’t about Sony or Nintendo, but about Microsoft getting excited about E3. Will we see their next console there? Undoubtedly. Will it be launched this year? That has more speculation surrounding it, but we’re thinking a November launch will be where Microsoft rests with the next Xbox.
This countdown clock could turn out to be nothing more than a countdown clock, of course, and we as the fanboys that we are, have begun counting down to Microsoft’s next console out of total foolishness. But we don’t think that’s the case. Microsoft will not be attending CES this year, and until E3, there really aren’t any massive gaming events that the folks in Redmond could launch their console at.
With that said, the Xbox 360 was announced at an MTV-aired event in March, completely separate from anything related to E3, GDC, or CES. The console was then shown off to the press and fellow gamers at E3 that same year, leading up to its launch just 8 months later, in November.
Having received their list for the biggest games in 2013 (the list curiously ends in April), we’re not sure Microsoft will be planning anything in March that might hurt sales of games for their current system.
At the end of the day, we can speculate all day long, but of course, we’ll bring you the latest information as we get it!