April 13^th, 2005 (10:05am) - According to Goldman Sachs, Microsoft itself has confirmed that it is unlikely that the current-gen Xbox will be discontinued when the next-gen Xbox (still no name) is released. Microsoft currently plans to reveal the next-gen Xbox on May 12th on MTV.

Goldman, like many other industry insiders, expected Microsoft to show off the Xbox 2 during the E3 video gaming conference in Los Angeles, which will be held May 17-20, 2005. "This appears to be a tactical effort to show Xbox 2 before Sony demonstrates the PlayStation 3 at E3," Goldman said.

The research firm, who currently rates Microsoft at "outperform," said they expect the Xbox 2 to be available in either October or November at a retail price of about $249 to $299. Goldman stated that the Xbox console would cater to the lower-end of the consumer segment. Along with the estimated release and price, Goldman also expects that Microsoft will ship about 3 million units worldwide in the December quarter.

Although not much is known about the next PlayStation from Sony, they are expected to debut it at E3. Goldman estimates at mid-2006 release in the United States, with a release in Japan happening in the fourth quarter of 2005, although it’s more likely to be released in the first quarter of 2006.