Sony and Microsoft are set to go head to head at the E3 games expo this June, with the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox 720 both purportedly to be given d?buts at the LA based show.

That's the low-down according to gaming site MCV, who claims to have confirmed the details with "third-party publishing sources" who state that Microsoft had "signalled to partners" that it was all set and Sony would "not be left behind this time".

Microsoft famously beat Sony to the 7th generation console punch back in the mid-noughties with the Xbox 360 getting a head start on the PS3. A start that led to a lead it has never let slip.

This isn't the first E3 launch murmurs for the two consoles either. Back in November an Edge report stated that Ubisoft Montreal (the development team behind Assassin's Creed Revelations) is "hard at work on target boxes?based on the intended specifications of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 successor" using PCs stacked with off-the-shelf components supplied by Microsoft itself with a view to an E3 showcase.

And, later that month Jim Ryan, PlayStation Europe's big cheese, said that it would be "undesirable" for the PS4 launch to lag too far behind the competition. Nintendo's Wii U is all set to hot shops this year, don't forget.

And if you think we're being presumptuous with our Xbox 720 moniker, you'll do well to remember that Microsoft itself has already revealed the name....sort of. In the Real Steel movie, which is set in the near-future, the logo can be spotted on advertising hoardings at the "Bing Arena" (alongside one for Virgin Galactic).

Pocket-lint reached out for comment from both Sony and Microsoft regarding the latest rumour. Unsurprisingly, they are both keeping tight-lipped on any future developments.

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Tags: Gaming Sony Microsoft E3 PS4 PlayStation 4 Xbox Xbox 720

Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4 to go head to head in June originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:37:00 +0000

Cameras and tablets filled the tech landscape in September. We however were far too?distracted?by the fact that Star Wars had arrived on Blu-ray. In what has to be our launch stunt of the year, London had its BT tower transformed into a giant lightsaber for one night only. We wont forget it and we expect neither will you. A month of launch excitement, bizarre PR stunts and Spotify working its way into our Facebook.?

Year in Review:

?

Amazon Kindle Fire and Kindle Touch avoid UK release

Amazon's potential iPad beating spendthrift of a tablet, the Kindle Fire, had stoked the fires of the hype machine rather nicely, that was until it emerged the device would no longer be headed to the UK. Amazon informed us that it had no plans at the time of writing in September to ship the device to the UK, disappointing those getting ready to save for a cheap Christmas tablet. Read More

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10 attaches itself to a bike

We enjoy a good quirky PR stunt at Pocket-lint but every so often one comes along that just doesn't make any sense. In September it was Samsung and the special edition Galaxy Tab bike. We have no idea how the Korean manufacturer imagined people would be using the tablet while riding. It was at least a fixie bike that Samsung had opted for, keeping the trendier among us pleased but ultimately the question does have to be asked ... why? Read More

Apple kills off its iPod Shuffle and iPod Classic

The portables that started it all, the iPod Shuffle and iPod Classic, started the beginning of the end in September. Apple made the decision to move on and stick with the iPod Touch as its primary phone-free music player. A risky move, especially given its extra cost of the Touch. Still it did mean if you wanted in to Apple's device infrastructure, it was iOS or nothing else, great news for app developers and the rest of the Apple community. Read More

On Live arrives in the UK

Pocket-lint was blown away by the technology found in On Live. The service allowed you to stream games at 720p from its servers on any device, with no installs and running smooth as butter. A few issues with the iPad and iPhone app launch have since stopped the service from truly being multi-platform, but ultimately if we can play through Arkham City on a MacBook Air, then we are happy. Read More

Facebook timeline is announced and Spotify for Facebook arrives

Facebook announced the most significant redesign of its social network since its inception in September. The timeline, now implemented in the social network, changed the way every person's profile would appear. Spotify also integrated itself into the website, allowing you to play music straight from Facebook as well as tell friends what you were listening to. Read More

Al Gore says the new iPhone is arriving in October

When he's not dealing with environmental issues and 'chillaxing', Gore likes nothing better than to leak new Apple device release dates out to the world. No one really saw this coming, but the American politician accidentally let slip that Apple would be letting a new iPhone out to the wild in October. "Not to mention the new iPhones coming out next month. That was a plug." said Gore. Oops. Read More

The Nikon J1 and V1 arrive

Everyone's favourite Japanese camera manufacturer decided to enter into the mirrorless game this year with the J1 and V1. They blurred the lines between very advanced compacts and an entirely new format. Boasting interchangeable lenses and high quality sensors, the new Nikon's had the prosumer photographer plenty excited. Read More

Duke Nukem gets slated, Gearbox asks why

Duke Nukem Forever finally arrived on consoles in 2011 after the?lengthiest?time in development for a computer game ever, in history, ever. After a ridiculously long wait gamers were poised ready for the return of the Duke and boy were they disappointed. In what must have been one of the worst games made in recent history, Forever totally missed the mark, so much so that Gearbox themselves asked for feedback as to why. Read More

Google+ launches for all

When Google announced it was to enter into the social networking game with Google+, it also revealed it was to keep the service in a beta invite only form. Unusual for a social network which you would imagine you would want as many users as possible to join. September was the month that it went public and me, you and everyone else could join. Read More

Thundercats toys headed for Christmas launch

The announcement that the Thundercats toys would be headed for a Christmas launch in October had us writing the earliest and shortest Christmas list we had ever made. It simply read "Thundercats toys, all of them". Read More

Google tells developers to get ready for Ice Cream Sandwich

The delights of ICS are now fully upon us in Galaxy Nexus form, but back in October proper details of the new operating system remained hazy. We knew it would be the unifying force between Google's tablet and phone landscape and had seen the odd screen, but the announcement that Google wanted developers to get ready for it, meant it was coming sooner than we thought. This had us rather excited over at Pocket-lint. Read More

Gears of War 3 launches

It was the year of gaming conclusions for console fans favourite franchises in 2011. None could be bigger than GoW3, which finally brought to an end the epic story of Marcus and chums and their fight against the Locust. Boasting the best multiplayer in the series yet and some serious 'how did they do that?' graphics, it immediately became our favourite in the series. Read More

The BT Tower is turned into a lightsaber

To celebrate the launch of Star Wars on Blu-ray London had one of its most iconic landmarks turned into a giant lightsaber. It worked brilliantly and instantly went meme-tastic, flooding the internet with pictures of London's skyline transformed into a Star Wars icon. Naturally Pocket-lint were there to take pictures, which turned out to be a good thing as it was one of the most popular stories we had this year. Read More

BlackBerry PlayBook sales disappoint

RIM's first foray into the tablet market, like the HP TouchPad, actually had some rather significant features that meant it deserved the attention it never got. First up was its camera, second the processor and third, the rather decent QNX operating system. Shame it got totally overshadowed by things like Honeycomb and the iPad. Read More

Windows 8 details emerge

Microsofts one OS to rule them all made an appearance in very early beta form in September. All the delights of the tile based Metro UI were there for us to enjoy, as well as the bugs and issues an early beta brings with it. The real confusion came at where the Metro interface stopped and the rest of normal Windows began. Read More

Apple manages to get Samsung Galaxy Tab banned

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 got itself in serious trouble in Germany, with a preliminary injunction in the Dusseldorf regional court. It meant the device, which Apple argued was dangerously close to patents it held over the design of its iPad, didn't go on sale in Germany. It marked the beginning of multiple bans of the device across Europe, with it eventually returning on sale. Read More

Back to the Future Nike shoes go on sale

They might not have been self tying, but they were good enough for us. The Nike Air Mag shoes brought the dream of many a geek to reality. Sure most of the trainers will never be walked in and will likely be confined to the shelves of Back to the Future fan's homes, but as long as they exist, we can rest happy. Read More

Call of Duty XP kicks off

A gaming mecca for COD fans popped up in downtown LA in September. It featured performances from Kanye West and the Dropkick Murphys as well as a lifesize COD level to blast each other with paintballs. The real star of the show however was the early access to MW3's multiplayer, it being the first place that the public and journalists could play it. Read More

Sony Ericsson's Xperia Arc S appears

A speed boost and a white form factor was given to Sony's flagship smartphone. That extra boost meant it could contend with the rest of the industry leaders and thanks to its still brilliant camera and screen, became one of our favourite Android phones on the market. Read More

Fujifilm X10 turns heads at IFA

The X100s dinkier brother had us all excited over its design and capabilities. All the hardware was there for a great camera and its size in particular meant it looked like a perfect street photo snapper. The all black finish was also a nice touch, leaving us hoping it could be an affordable alternative to the Leica. Sleek and stylish, this was a camera everyone wanted to play with. Read More?

Tags: Amazon Amazon Kindle Fire Amazon Kindle Touch Google Google+ Samsung Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Apple Apple iPad iPhone On Live Spotify Nikon Facebook Xbox Gears of War 3 Star Wars Windows 8 CODXP Sony Ericsson Features Year in Review

Year in review 2011: September originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 30 Dec 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Of all the stories that broke in August the one that really got people talking was that tech superstar Steve Jobs would be resigning from Apple, to be replaced by CEO Tim Cook. It was one of the most important stories to break this year apart from of course his death.?

August was also a rather significant month for the mobile, with the usual iPhone rumours being backed up with leaks from the likes of HTC and of course the awesome TouchPad fire sale from HP.

Year in Review:

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Sky Go launches in trolley form

Sky Go, the tablet friendly version of everyones favourite Murdoch powered tv empire, made an appearance in supermarket trolleys across the country. Sainsbury's teamed up with Sky to bring iPads and the app to a selection of its shopping trolleys. More a PR stunt than anything, but we didn't mind, anything to keep the weekly shop more exciting.?Read More

Stephen Fry doesn't place the iPhone as his favourite gadget

Apple obsessed Fry hosted a show this year called 100 greatest gadgets which you would have expected the iPhone to top. It didn't, instead Fry rather strangely chose the lighter as the most important piece of gadgetry in history. It might not have made sense at first but after his explanation it became clear the all knowing Fryster knew what he was talking about.?Read More

Gamer goes for 1 million Xbox points

Even beginning to comprehend how many hours you would need to pour into Xbox gaming in order to acquire this number of points hurts our head. 1 million Xbox points would require a platinum trophy on just about every title available on the console. Or to be more precise, 900 complete play throughs.?Read More

iTunes Match arrives in iOS 5

iTunes Match made its first appearance for iOS 5 developers in August. Acting like a clean slate for piracy fans and a cheap mans answer to Spotify, the ?21 per year service was set to revolutionise the way people used iTunes.?Read More

HP TouchPad has a fire sale

The little tablet that never quite was, the HP TouchPad, went on sale for just ?89 in August. The resultant rush for tablet buying had even the Pocket-lint gang arguing over who got what. Websites crashed, stock flew off the shelves and eBay immediately filled with TouchPads picked up by crafty shoppers.?Read More

HTC Vigor leaked pics

HTC picked up Beats Audio licensing this year which left audio fans waiting for a new handset with the headphones included. This was eventually to arrive in the form of the Sensation XE and XL, but rumour town kept us excited with the HTC Vigor.?Read More

LG announces 2D to 3D app converter

The LG Optimus 3D might have initially seemed like a bit of a gimmick, especially given the lack of apps optimised for glasses free 3D. LG hoped to change all this with its clever 2D to 3D app converter, which could turn conventional gaming into the third?dimension.?Read More

Schmidt says Google TV is coming to UK

Despite practically falling flat on its face at launch, Google's Eric Schmidt continued to insist that Google TV would launch in the UK. Yet to truly materialise over on British shores, the service keeps on getting cheaper in the US.?Read More

Samsung leaks Galaxy Nexus

The Galaxy Nexus we now know as the the flagship Android handset available. It was however just an apple in Samsung's eye at this point, small enough for them to accidentally leak it out to the general public. Oops thought Samsung and immediately tried to keep things quiet, it was however too late, the Android fans had rallied and the seeds of excitement were sown.?Read More

Steve Jobs resigns

In what would be the prelude to the story of the year, Steve Jobs, an icon in the technology world, stepped down as CEO of Apple. Replaced by Tim Cook, who would later appear at the iPhone 4S launch, Jobs resigning left many worried what direction Apple would take.?Read More

Tron made with duct tape

Tron Legacy re-ignited our love of the lightcycle. It was however nothing on the original, which at least featured proper light trails. Thankfully advertisers recreated the joys of the original, in an ad campaign that was surely destined to go viral.?Read More

Sony Nex-7 and Nex-5n cameras land

The original Sony NEX was a bit of a misnomer in the camera world, being thinner than a compact but with a proper interchangeable lens system. It just didn't quite perform or feel right in the hand. Thankfully Sony nailed it second time round with the NEX-5n and NEX-7, both of which would outperform most other cameras in its category.?Read More

8GB iPhone 4 coming soon?

A cheaper iPhone 4 would make sense, particularly given the now more powerful iPhone 4S has been released. Dropping memory would also reduce cost, hence the 8GB iPhone 4 rumours, which had everyone who couldn't quite afford the Apple hardware in August convinced they would be getting a cheaper one soon.?Read More

HP dumps WebOS

As quick as the TouchPad went on sale and HP's brand new product line up dropped in price, the company dropped WebOS. Massively underrated, it just came too late and into a market that was just too competitive. Shame, as WebOS deserved to succeed.?Read More

Minecraft Pocket Edition hits Android Market

Minecraft, the king of indie games, arrived on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play as an exclusive. It was for a while strictly reserved for Play owners. Eventually the app hit the Android Market and the rest of us could enjoy the delights of its cube-based world.?Read More

Samsung Galaxy Tab banned in OZ

The lawsuits continued between Samsung, Apple and chums. The majority of the time it was Cupertino that emerged victorious and in this case, they even managed to get a sale ban on the Galaxy Tab in Australia.?Read More

Apple biggest company in the world

Apple managed to top even the likes of Exxon-Mobil as the biggest company in the world. Despite retaining a minority share of the smartphone market, its iPhone, iPad and Mac computers ensured that the company would become the financial king of the tech world.?Read More

Nokia N9 gets a UK release

The great smartphone inbetweener, the Nokia N9, went on general release in the UK. Powered by MeeGo, the OS that never was, it signalled the end for Nokia and its non WP7 handsets.?Read More

Anonymous threatens to close down Facebook

Remember what Zuckerberg said in The Social Network? "We don't break down ... ever". Well Anonymous appeared to think differently and threatened to close down the website. They didn't ...?Read More

Tags: Sky Sky Go Tablets Apple iPad Samsung Samsung Galaxy Tab Anonymous HTC HP TouchPad Xbox Microsoft Xbox 360 iPhone 4 LG Galaxy Nexus Sony Sony NEX-7 Sony NEX-5N Features Year in Review

Year in review 2011: August originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +0000