Both the Xbox 360 successor AND a follow up to the PS3 will be shown at E3 2012.

The LA show tease will come as Wii U launch details are locked in – and should ensure no ground is lost between competing consoles.

It will mark the very first time in the show’s 17-year history that three fresh, rival console formats will be so directly comparable.

Microsoft has long been rumoured to detail its next-gen plans at E3 2012, and MCV’s third-party publishing sources claim the firm had signalled to partners this will happen.

The 360 is one of the longest-serving games consoles in history. But the real surprise is an  early move from Sony. Execs at the PlayStation firm have made it clear to third-parties that they will not be left behind this time.

Execs aren’t expecting price or launch details for the new Xbox or PlayStation. But their unveiling could be a perfect spoiler to the pre-Christmas launch date and price that will be revealed for Wii U in June.

Next Xbox to come with a tablet

“Given Microsoft’s recent efforts at unification across its Windows, Mobile, and Xbox product lines, it seems clear that the 720 or whatever they end up calling it will be the ultimate personification of that strategy,” it says.

“There are strong signs suggesting that, like with Nintendo’s Wii U, a tablet component figures heavily into the new design.”

It goes on to speculate that the new machine will include a tablet PC, base station, a controller and some form of Kinect.

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