Rumor round-up: PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 announcements in March

Sourced from the February issue of Game Informer, the proposed unveilings would mirror Apple's habit of announcing new hardware at events that coincide with GDC, both in terms of date and location.

Both companies have a history of making new console announcements before one of the year's biggest video game events, the Electronic Entertainment Expo.

For Microsoft, a GDC-period announcement would relate to the time it first announced plans for an Xbox console at GDC 2000. The Xbox 360 then made its debut on MTV in May 2005. Both occured prior to E3, at which more details were given.

While Sony chose the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo to unveil the PlayStation 3, it was far more recently that the PlayStation Vita was given a dedicated "PlayStation Meeting" in February 2011, allowing for software line-ups, final specifications, launch dates and prices to be aired at both E3 and Gamescom.

Meanwhile, Chilean website Emol indicates that May is the month for PlayStation 4 news. It quotes Sony executive Hiroshi Sakatomi as saying that "we are focused on the E3 gaming event in June. [A new PlayStation] announcement may be at that time or even earlier in May," but both Game Informer and Emol give credence to the suggestion that official word on these new console projects will come before June.