Predictions and rumors on what next-generation video game consoles will have in store have been running rampant as of late, and it's hard to say if there's any truth to them. Some fans may be anxious to learn some definitive details about the PlayStation 5 and next Xbox so that the rumors can be put to rest, and while official confirmation on when that will be remains to be seen, at least one analyst thinks the consoles will be announced this year for release in 2020.

This is according to NPD analyst Mat Piscatella, who believes that declining sales for both the PS4 and Xbox One will drive Sony and Microsoft to announce the PS5 and next Xbox, respectively. Piscatella stopped short of predicting an exact time in 2019 that the new consoles would be announced, but previous rumors and speculation have pointed to as early as this summer at E3 2019 or as late as PSX 2019 in December.

As for Piscatella's prediction that the PS5 and next Xbox will launch in 2020, that seems to be in line with the general consensus. While Microsoft briefly teased the next Xbox at E3 2018, we have no official details on what the next console (or consoles) will be like, and Sony hasn't really acknowledged the PS5's existence at all. Considering this, a 2019 announcement followed by a 2020 launch for both consoles seems like the most likely scenario.

Playstation Xbox

However, there are some reports that at least one of the consoles may launch in 2019 instead. For example, Japanese analyst firm Ace Economic Research Institute believes that the PS5 launching in 2019 is just a matter of Sony being able to obtain the necessary amount of monolithic ceramic capacitors to ship as many consoles at it wants to at launch.

Whenever the new consoles are announced, it will be interesting to see if their features match up with what's been predicted. Evidence points to Microsoft working on multiple consoles, one for strictly streaming games and another with a traditional disc drive, and there's also evidence to suggest the PS5 may have handheld capabilities, not unlike the Nintendo Switch.

Of course, all of this is just rumor and speculation until Sony and Microsoft are ready to share more information. Hopefully Piscatella's prediction is spot-on, and we'll be able to find out more about the next-gen consoles later this year.

Source: GamingBolt