Last year, Sony announced it would debut its next-generation console--most commonly called the PlayStation 3--at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo. The event will take place May 18 to 20 at the Los Angeles Convention Center and will also be where the world will get the first glimpse of Nintendo's next-generation console, code-named "Revolution." With it looking unlikely that Microsoft will unveil the Xbox's successor at next month's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, industry-watchers had been betting it would also first see the light of day at E3.

However, now it appears those bets may not be such a sure thing. Sony Computer Entertainment America representatives have confirmed to GameSpot that the US subsidiary of the Japanese electronics giant "will have an event to premier [its] next-generation system" before E3.

SCEA reps would reveal little else about the PlayStation 3 unveiling other than saying it would not be at GDC. "The premiere event has nothing to do with GDC," said one. "The event will be before E3, but the date is still not announced."

Sony's disclosure about the PlayStation 3 premiere came just hours after it officially took the wraps off the Cell processor, which the PS3 will use, at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco. For a full rundown on the Cell processor's capabilities, check out GameSpot Hardware's feature on the chip.