Next Xbox in 2012, PS4 dev ramping up - Report

It appears next-generation console rumors are coming to a consensus. Edge today reported that Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, and other unspecified major developers are developing games for the successor to the Xbox 360 with a late 2012 launch expected.

According to the site, Ubisoft Montreal and "certain EA studios" are working on games with Microsoft-provided "target boxes" that use off-the-shelf computer parts matching the planned specifications for the company's next console. The first legitimate devkits for the system are expected to be provided to developers by the end of this year. The given late-2012 release window lines up with rumors from last week that pegged the next Xbox as launching in the holiday season next year.

Edge also provided a corroborating take for another next-generation rumor that had been floating around, this one about Sony's next PlayStation. Last month, rumors circulated that Sony had begun work on PlayStation 4 games--a notion backed up by Edge's report that "one major Sony-owned studio has now ceased PlayStation 3 development" to work on the next console from the electronics giant.