VG247 has been told that Sony is aiming to release PlayStation 4 before Xbox 720 next Christmas, and that certain developers have been invited to reveal meetings in the US in May and June.

“Sony are completely in the belief that they have the jump on Microsoft this time. You should be watching the timing of next year’s E3 keynotes, and who’s going to go first.”

Following continued reports last week that PlayStation 4 is to be based on AMD hardware and is being planned for a 2013 release, a VG247 source has said Sony is aiming to get the machine to market ahead of Microsoft’s next generation Xbox.

The design goalposts for PS4, including specs, were in place at least two years ago, we were told. Our source said that Sony is “confident” it will have the console at market ahead of the next generation Xbox next Christmas.

VG247 reported this morning that developers and publishers have been told that Xbox 720 will be released for Holiday 2013.

“Sony are completely in the belief that they have the jump on Microsoft this time,” they said. “You should be watching the timing of next year’s E3 keynotes, and who’s going to go first.”

A second source said this morning that all next-generation systems will be in place “by 2014”.

Sony has apparently already put its favoured partners in the frame as to PlayStation 4.

Subscribe to the VG247 newsletter Get all the best bits of VG247 delivered to your inbox every Friday! Enable JavaScript to sign up to our newsletter

“Top line publishers already know about it,” our source said. “Developers working with publishers – like Ubisoft, for example – already know what’s going on. They’re already working on it.”

While “most developers” will be fully briefed “by the end of this year,” some have been invited to events in May and June in the US.

Another source has told us more information is going to be issued about PS4 to developers under NDA in May.

MCV reported earlier this year that both PS4 and Xbox 720 “will be shown at E3 2012,” but both Microsoft and Sony have both said nothing consumer-facing about the next generation will happen at the LA event this year.

Direct to drive

In addition, a rumour is circulating that PlayStation 4 will use DirectX as opposed to a proprietary Sony API. It was reported last week that PlayStation 4 will not be based on PS3’s Cell processor in any way, and will instead use standard AMD hardware.

We were told today that Crytek was scaling its tech on the assumption that PS4 was going to be using a 24-core Cell processor as opposed to the eight-core unit in PS3. The studio was forced to halt development and start afresh when it was informed PlayStation 4 won’t be using Cell at all.

Indications are that PlayStation 4 will provide a development environment similar to that of the Xbox consoles and PC.

In addition VG247 has been told that elements of Vita’s launch hardware were changed to ensure that PS4 and Vita will be able to connect in a similar style to Nintendo’s Wii U and its controller – due for release this year – with Vita’s being used to control PS4 games with both twin sticks and touch.