EA: 'MS, Sony to release new iterations'

Electronic Arts CEO Rich Hilleman has claimed that Sony and Microsoft will release new iterations of the PS3 and Xbox 360 before the end of the current console generation.

Speaking at the Hot Chips conference in Stanford, the exec said that both platform holders will channel their resources into establishing their current systems, rather than invest in new hardware.

According to Venturebeat, Hilleman said: "I expect we'll see a PlayStation 3.5 before we see a PlayStation 4 and an Xbox 560 before we see an Xbox 720.

"The biggest shift is how fast packaged goods games are changing and going away."

Hilleman's assertion is backed by EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich, who has claimed that the current generation console war has left both firms financially exhausted.

It was also noted that, in the current climate, EA needs to sell 1.1 million software units just to break even, due to the effects of piracy and secondhand sales. According to Hilleman, last year's Burnout Paradise has twice as many users as it has units sold.

Sony has previously announced that the PS3 will have a ten-year lifecycle, while Microsoft has continuously refuted reports that a next-generation successor to the Xbox 360 is in the works.