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New Xbox not coming at E3 or any time soon, says Microsoft

There won't be a new Xbox at E3 or in the foreseeable future, Microsoft has confirmed.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
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Richard Trenholm
2 min read

There won't be a new Xbox at E3. Microsoft has confirmed we won't see a new console at the annual gaming extravaganza, leaving fans disappointed for another year.

The rumoured Xbox 720 may play 3D games, but we won't be getting any clues at E3 in June, when the gaming industry comes together in Los Angeles to reveal the hottest games and gear for the year.

A Microsoft exec had previously revealed that a new generation of Xbox wouldn't go on sale this year, but we had hoped there would be some glimpse of the next-generation Xbox at E3, after rumours the new console is in development under the codename Durango.

The Xbox 360 is still doing such boffo business -- sales still growing even in its seventh year -- that Microsoft told Kotaku "there will be no talk of new Xbox hardware at E3 or anytime soon".

So in the meantime we'll have to stick to reading about new games like Halo 4 (pictured above) and Fable: The Journey, speculating about cool stuff like this bizarre skin-stretching game controller, or arguing over which are the 10 best Xbox games ever.

We can look forward though to a new Xbox TV, music and movie service to be unveiled next week. And Xbox Live is coming to Windows 8 when it arrives late in the year.

The last big development for the Xbox hardware was in late 2010, with the launch of the arm-waving motion-controlled Kinect system. That landed at the same time as Sony PlayStation Move, the last big development for Sony's rival console. Speculation is equally rife about the PlayStation 4, whatever form that takes.

The only next-generation console to be revealed so far is the Nintendo Wii U, expected some time this year.

So no new hardware from the big three at E3, but you can see all the exciting new games and gear with Guy, Jane, Mark and the console-crazy GameSpot team all year around.

Were you hoping for a new Xbox or are you happy with what you have? When do you want in the new Xbox? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook wall.