The next-gen rumor mill has been working overtime this year, but the proliferation of purported leaks doesn't necessarily mean official announcements are just around the corner. In an interview with French news magazine Le Point.fr, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe executive Phillipe Cardon said he expects the company to be the last to announce its next-gen console.

　　The PS3 isn't ready for retirement just yet. In the interview, Cardon noted that Sony was the last system to launch this generation with the PlayStation 3. (The PS3 preceded the Wii's November 2006 launch in the US by a week, but the system was the last to debut in Europe, arriving in March of 2007.) While the Wii has seen its sales declining recently, Cardon said there was a lot less pressure on Sony to move its focus to the next generation.

　　In another recent Le Point.fr interview, Microsoft's French marketing manager told the magazine the successor to the Xbox 360 won't hit stores this year. While he didn't guarantee the year would pass without an announcement of new hardware, the executive said there was considerable life left in the Xbox 360, noting there was still room for more price cuts on the system.