On 
Wednesday, Microsoft confirmed the worst-kept secret in the video game world: It plans to unveil its next generation console on May 21.
Like Sony’s PlayStation 4, the new console is expected to hit stores this holiday season and many analysts and investors are hanging their hopes on the new machines to kickstart the video game industry back into growth mode.
It 
hasn’t been a smooth ride for Nintendo’s Wii U. It’s premature to call the system a flop, but it’s undoubtedly been a disappointment thus far.
Nintendo’s new console system had a decent start, selling 463,000 systems in December of last year, but that paled compared to the 890,000 Wiis that were sold during that console’s debut. Worse yet, the Wii U sales drop since then has been dizzying. In January and February combined, only 112,000 Wii Us were sold, according to The NPD Group. To put that in perspective, the Wii sold 683,000 in that time frame. Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 have thoroughly outsold the Wii U in 2013.
Were 
this any other transition period for the video game industry, GameStop stock would be soaring these days.
Instead, the stock has been largely flat — climbing less than one point year to date, noticeably underperforming the market’s seven percent gains — as well as other companies in the gaming space.
After 
the PlayStation 4 was announced, Adam Sessler grabbed me and Giant Bomb’s Jeff Gerstmann to discuss and decompress from the whole affair. Here’s the results of that conversation.
While 
Sony formally unveiled the PlayStation 4 at its media event Wednesday night, it left plenty of questions unanswered.
Much of that was deliberate. After all, the system won’t hit store shelves until the holidays — a good 9 months off — and the company’s marketing machine needs to keep some of its powder dry. But Sony ignored several concerns during its two-hour press conference, many of which remain top of mind for those interested in the next-generation console.
Luckily, Sony addressed a few of these following the reveal. Here’s the lowdown on a handful of big issues.
After 
seven years, Sony is ready to pull the plug on the PlayStation 3, clearing shelves this fall for the PlayStation 4.
As expected, the PS4 features improved graphics performance over its predecessor, but unlike the PS3, which relied on hardware superiority to woo customers, the new system will focus on other elements as well to lure players away from competing consoles from Microsoft and Nintendo — as well as platforms from Apple and other companies. No price has yet been disclosed.
After almost a year of rumors and whispers, Sony has finally revealed the worst kept secret in gaming: The PlayStation 4 is on the way.
At a lavish press event in New York, the company showed off its next-generation console, a system it hopes will lure people away not only from competing machines from Microsoft and Nintendo, but from smart phones, tablets and other new gaming platforms. It will be released this holiday season, though the company didn’t announce a price.
What 
does tonight’s announcement of the PlayStation 4 spell for Sony’s next-gen fortunes? Chris Morris takes a look at what has been promised — and ignored — and predicts what it means for the platform holder’s future.
The reveal was just the beginning.
Sony’s unveiling of the PlayStation 4 Wednesday was the start of a long, carefully planned marketing campaign that will culminate in its release this holiday season. And while the company might be focusing gamer attentions on the new hardware, the touchscreen controller and several big name games, what’s really at stake is a whole lot bigger.
Video 
game consoles, typically, spend about five or six years in the spotlight, before stepping aside for the next generation. The current cycle, though, is now entering its seventh year — a longevity that many analysts and publishers blame for the malaise that has affected the shares of game makers.
Sony, on Feb. 20, is expected to unveil the PlayStation 4, its entry in the next generation battle. The system is more than the start of a new cycle, though; it’s an essential step in rebuilding Sony as a corporation.
Nintendo 
has a problem on its hands.
The Wii U, in its second full month of availability, sold a paltry 57,000 units in the U.S. according to data from The NPD Group. That’s substantially fewer than its predecessor and well under half the number analysts were expecting for the month. And it props opens the door — and perhaps issues a warning — for Sony and Microsoft, which are both expected to roll out new consoles this year.
Chris Morris: Journalist 