No Xbox 2 announcement in March?

OK, so maybe we jumped the gun with our prediction that the next version of the Xbox would be revealed at the Game Developers Conference in March.

Organizers of the conference announced Thursday that Microsoft Vice President J. Allard, one of the top dogs in the Xbox division, will deliver a keynote address at the event, scheduled for March 7 to 11 in San Francisco.

Allard will "discuss Microsoft's commitment to the next generation of interactive entertainment," according to the announcement from conference organizer CMP Media.

Based on previous events and a general sense that Microsoft is unlikely to rely on a third-tier executive to announce a product so vital to the company's future, we'll take that to mean another not-too-specific presentation on coming technological advances.

GDC is the forum where Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates unveiled the original Xbox in 2000.