THE BUZZ: A variety of sources have spoken up today, all of which claim to have information on the next round of game consoles. So what’s being said?

First up comes from UK media outlet MCV, who claim to have heard from trusted third-party publishing sources. According to them, both the next Xbox (whatever it shall be named) and the PlayStation 4 will be unveiled at E3 2012. According to MCV’s sources, Sony is determined to “not be left behind this time”, and thus not let Microsoft get too big of a lead in terms of releasing hardware much earlier than Sony. (MCV Story)

But when will these consoles come out? Industry Gamers chimes in with that, as their own “developer source” claims that due to the plans chip makers are working under, it looks one—or both—of the systems could be hitting in time for Christmas 2012. (Industry Gamers Story)

Finally—how about power? Here we look to Computer and Video Games, who talks about a few new bits of juice gossip coming from the crop of UK gaming mags just now hitting newsstands. (CVG Story)

Here we’re given these tidbits:

• Microsoft’s new hardware will beat Sony’s machine to store shelves “if only by months”
• The next Xbox will be hitting in late 2013, with “Kinect 2.0″ included as part of the system (which obviously goes against the Industry Gamers rumor)
• The PlayStation 4 “might outperform” the next Xbox in terms of processor power

EGM’s TAKE: The sudden flood of rumors and speculation on the next wave of consoles that hit today is pretty crazy. Could any of this stuff be true? Just as a personal opinion, I’ll say this—I absolutely expect to see something revealed at the next E3 either by one or both of these companies. Even if the hardware isn’t ready to be released just yet, it would only make sense to get some information out there about their next systems before the Wii U is officially launched.

Everything else, however, is a little tougher to judge. I would be rather surprised to see the PlayStation 4 or next Xbox make it in time for Christmas 2012—but it could always happen, especially if Microsoft or Sony begin to get itchy trigger fingers and feel like it’s time to play their hands.

Whatever the truth may be, I’m already certain that this year’s E3 will be an exciting one.