Video game analyst Michael Pachter has predicted that Microsoft’s next-generation console will skip 2013 and launch early 2014.

According to Pachter, it would “make more sense” to launch in spring 2014 and avoid the late 2013 buying season completely.

“If I were a betting man (and I am), I would say a spring 2014 launch makes more sense, since hard core Xbots could get a console without having to compete with moms buying gifts at holiday, and it is likely that they won’t manufacture more than a few million units for launch,” he told X360 Magazine.

Pachter also believes that the next-gen Xbox will focus on becoming an all-in-one entertainment hub, ”It’s pretty clear to me that Microsoft intends to allow the Xbox 720 to function as a cable TV box, allowing cable television service providers to broadcast over the Internet through the box, with SmartGlass as the remote controller, and with the Xbox 720 using Windows 8 to split the TV signal into multiple feeds, allowing consumers to divert different channel feeds to different displays within the home.”

Are you happy to see Microsoft focusing on entertainment or should they focus more on games?

Source: X360