British gaming publication CVG has leaked rumors that Microsoft will unveil the Xbox 720 in April.
The rumor comes following Sony's partial unveiling of the Playstation 4 at a press conference on Wednesday Feb. 20. During the conference, Sony revealed a number of the console's main features, the controller and even displayed some of the system's games. The company did not, however, reveal the actual body of the gaming system.
The Playstation 4 was also featured on Thursday Feb. 21 on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon for a demo of the upcoming game Kill Zone: Shadow Fall. Again, the console itself was not seen.
According to a senior official at Sony, the PlayStation 4 announcement surprised Microsoft: a likely possibility given that the two systems weren't expected to be revealed until the E3 conference.
"We definitely ruffled some feathers," the source said.
There is no indication yet as to how many of the Xbox 720's features will be showcased at the rumored unveiling. However, CVG says that, "It is expected that discussion about future tech would be an inevitability." It is rumored that the system will include 8 GB of RAM, the remodeled Kinect 2 and a slew of social and group gaming features.
Many believe that Microsoft will also showcase a selection of games along with four new IPs, including the "next big entertainment franchise." It has also been reported that Microsoft Studios Senior Product Manager and Planner Jonathan Browne has led the IPs "from the very early concept phase through green light to production."
Rumors of the system's release have been fueled by the fact that a Seattle event organizer who works with Microsoft reserved the domain name "XboxEvent.com." The domain is not necessarily an indication of an April event, however, and could refer to E3 or an Xbox event at any other time of year. In the meantime, the official Xbox blog Major Nelson still displays a countdown clock to E3.
