Microsoft will not release the Xbox 720 in 2012, according to Cedrick Delmas, marketing director of Microsoft France. Earlier this month, there were a lot of rumors about the Xbox 720 console. Just last week, we learned that Xbox 720 will be 6 times faster than its predecessor, Xbox 360. Asked whether Microsoft would announce a new device during E3 this year, Delmas said the industry often generates a lot of rumors, but Xbox 360's cycle is not over at all. It's too early to talk about what will happen during E3, he said, but one thing is sure: "there will be nothing new in 2012," and Microsoft won't compete with the Nintendo console (Wii U, which will be released this year).

If we had to deal with Nintendo, we would be able to come up with something immediately, and it is not the case at all. We are not here to deal with Nintendo and they are not there to fight against other manufacturers. Nintendo has placed itself in a different cycle, they advance at their own pace, successfully as we have seen with the Wii, and now it is their turn to present their innovation.

Delmas was also asked if he believes that the decline in sales shows the end of a cycle. He said the "consoles have been around for almost seven years now and they are a little at a crossroads with the arrival of next-generation platforms, as seen on laptops, with the 3DS and Vita and then, soon, on consoles with Wii U from Nintendo." In 2012, Microsoft will continue to extend the penetration of Xbox Live on the installed base of machines by developing a range of services, he said. Asked why important games are not made for Kinect, Delmas said Kinect isn't designed for pure gamers because the average age of gamers is around 35 years.