Friday, February 22, 2013

Is Microsoft’s next console about to be revealed?


A new domain suggests that Microsoft could be preparing an event to announce its next console. According to WHOIS data, XboxEvent.com was registered yesterday by U.S. Techs, a company recently rebranded as Eventcore that provides “advanced, customized solutions in the event management industry.”
As sleuths on the NeoGAF forums point out, U.S. Techs also registered XboxE312.com (the event site used to sign up for Microsoft’s press briefing at E3 last year) as well as Microsoft’s 2013 Hosting Summit site, which includes the text “this site is hosted for Microsoft by U.S. Techs” at the bottom.
For now, we can’t be sure what exactly XboxEvent.com is or what it might be used for, but hot on the heels of Sony’s dedicated conference to reveal the PlayStation 4 this week, this could be an indicator that Microsoft is getting ready to hold its own event to announce the new Xbox soon. According to reports from CVG and The Verge, industry sources suggest that April is currently the most likely time frame.
A Microsoft spokesperson provided the following statement:

“Microsoft often acquires various domain names as part of its ongoing business strategy, but beyond that we have no comment.”