While we’ve already brought you the news that Sony won’t be bringing their long rumored next version of the PlayStation to E3 2012, a new source is claiming that one of the big three (Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft) won’t be rolling out a next generation console at all. And since we already saw the Wii U, Nintendo’s next generation console, at last year’s E3, that leaves either Sony or Microsoft to be the one to “bow out.”

The news comes to us from cloud-based gaming service Gaikai, who claim that “not all of the current console makers will have one more generation.” Gaikai also reveals that this will be the big news of E3 2012.

Since Sony has already stressed their ten-year life cycle for the PS3 and since according the the number of rumors and consistently of them pointing towards Xbox 720 dev kits in the hands of major studios, it seems most likely that it would be the PlayStation that doesn’t receive a next-gen iteration, but even that seems like a stretch. Sure, Sony is sticking to their guns at this point, but I interpret this news as more of a “it’s not happening this year” situation rather than a not at all one.

If Sony were to completely skip whatever the next generation is, and position the PS4 to be the next next-generation console, they would lose out on a ton of fans, who are forced to transition to either the PC or Xbox 720 lest they be left in the dust. Yes, they have the Vita's North American release to focus on at the moment, but that handheld is not going to be able to compete whatever workhouse console Microsoft is working on.

It also seems plausible that Gaikai is working with Sony on some sort of cloud-based answer to the next-gen question, and that will ostensibly be the PlayStation’s next iteration. Cloud-based gaming is steadily growing in popularity, due in no small part to services like OnLive, so it seems like an obvious choice for one of the big three to seriously contemplate its viability. Although, that would directly contradict what Sony President Kaz Hirai said about the PS4 being disc based.

Still, we have heard several rumors about the PS4, including its power and graphical capabilities, which suggests something is being worked on, even if it isn’t ready for a formal unveiling. I’d take this rumor with a grain of salt, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for a PS4 announcement this year, or maybe even next year.

Do you think that either Microsoft or Sony will skip this next console generation? Is the video gaming world ready for a cloud-based console to replace one of the big three?

Source: Industry Gamers