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At the time of this writing there are 154 days and 10 hours left until the first day of E3 2013. How do I know this as someone too lazy to look at the calendar and count the days? Xbox Live's Major Nelson (Larry Hryb, Director of Programming for Xbox Live) interestingly shared a countdown timer to, pointing towards the first day of the event, seemingly teasing a major announcement for Xbox from Microsoft.

With years of rumors and the age of the Xbox 360, the obvious speculation points towards a new console announcement, a console which could release as early as this fall, if not, next year. Where (and when) then, does Sony and the PlayStation 4?

Like Microsoft, Sony has been working on their next-gen hardware for quite sometime, potentially as early as 2010 - according a the resume of a former software design director within Sony’s gaming division. One rumor from an inside "source" stressed that Sony did not want a repeat of the current console generation where they were a year late out of the gate compared to the Xbox 360, claiming that Sony would unveil and/or release the PS4 before Microsoft makes their next-gen move.

Only a week after Major Nelson teased Microsoft's Xbox-related unveiling this summer, Expert Reviews reports Sony may unveil the PS4 as early as next month. Sony's hosting an event titled 'Destination PlayStation' on February 25th and while PS3 and Vita will be a mainstay of the show, speculation hints at a possible first unveiling of the PS3's successor. And that's all it is at this point: speculation.

The Arizona-based event isn't for the public or media however, so it wouldn't be a smart way to begin the marketing campaign for the next console and therefore, likely won't be. Unfortunately, with all of the rumors surround the next platforms, no matter what Sony and Microsoft unveil leading up to the actual console reveals will fail to meet expectations.

If such an large-scale industry event is made next month, Electronic Arts' CEO John Riccitiello may end up being right in his prediction last year that both the PS4 and Xbox 720 - or whatever they end up being called - could debut in 2013. We do expect to at least see official reveals regarding the next Xbox and PlayStation this year.

Which console will be unveiled first?

[poll id="45"]

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Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes.

Source: Expert Reviews