Xbox 2 will not make GDC appearance - Microsoft

The public unveiling of the next-generation Xbox system will not happen at the Game Developers Conference next month, Microsoft has confirmed, leaving E3 in May as the most likely venue for the console's debut.

American Technology Research analyst PJ McNealy commented earlier this week that the firm was more likely to use E3 as a platform to launch the new machine, citing a conversation with senior management as his source.

Now Microsoft has confirmed that the console won't be on show at the Game Developers Conference event in early March, where Bill Gates unveiled the original Xbox five years ago.

XNA supreme J Allard is set to make an early keynote presentation at GDC, which had fuelled suspicion that the long-rumoured unveiling would not be at the conference - since an announcement of such import is much more likely to be made by Gates himself.

Assuming that the console's launch has indeed been scheduled for E3, it promises to be one of the busiest shows of recent years, eclipsing even last year's showdown between the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP.

Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are all expected to bring their next-generation console hardware to the show in some form, with reports from within Sony suggesting that PlayStation 3 units may even be running code at the event.