While previous confirmations by Sony had confirmed that the PS4 would not be making an appearance during this year's E3, popular opinion was still holding out hope that Microsoft would unveil their new console, codenamed Durango, during their press conference. Unfortunately, Microsoft has now put the nail in that coffin; outright saying there will be no new console present during the event's proceedings.

Much like Sony, Microsoft still believes their current gen console is still very viable, and would want to do nothing to hurt sales of that machine. Not only does this mean that neither Microsoft nor Sony will have anything particularly revolutionary on display during E3, it also means that Nintendo will control their own fate this holiday season without any competition.

From Microsoft's official statement on the matter it's hard to glean just how much of a factor Sony's protracted console cycle is playing into Microsoft's trepidation, but since, even if they were to unveil some time next year they would still be at least one year ahead of Sony, it gives Microsoft plenty of time to fine tune and perfect.

Still, it feels a bit weird that as news was continuing to build that suggested Microsoft did have a new console in development — they may have even shown it off to publishers — that they would catch fans by surprise and say they have nothing to show at E3. Obviously they're working on something, but perhaps it isn't fit for fan eyes just yet.

Here's Microsoft's official statement to Game Informer:

"For us, 2012 is all about Xbox 360–and it’s the best year ever for Xbox 360. The console is coming off its biggest year ever–a year in which Xbox outsold all other consoles worldwide."

Can't argue with that logic, but still there is going to come a point where, even more so now, the PC will become the preferred "console" for games that are on all three major platforms. The scenario had just began to rear its head starting with some of 2011's standouts like Batman: Arkham City and Skyrim, but now it's sure to become even more prevalent as we move deeper into 2012. Hopefully whatever Microsoft has cooking is really, really good.

How do you feel about Microsoft not announcing a new console during this year's E3? Do you think Sony's decision to hold off on announcements played into it?

Source: Game Informer