Console fans again live in exciting times, it seems. Setting aside the handheld market, which has already seen a shift to its next-generation platforms, the market for home consoles is on the cusp of a generational shift.

Nintendo formally opened up hunting season with its formal announcement of the Wii U, which is due to arrive this holiday season. Going by a recent report by Trusted Reviews, Microsoft will likely follow suit late next year with the successor to its Xbox 360, which has been dubbed by many observers as the Xbox 720.

The website cited Stainless Games COO Matt Edmunds as suggesting that next year will be ground zero for new console introductions, suggesting that the new Xbox could arrive next fall, following a formal unveiling event at E3.

It has to be noted that the Xbox 360 wasn’t revealed at E3, and Microsoft instead elected to launch the console at a special MTV program just before the annual trade show. Still, the announcement was made in the middle of the year, and Microsoft is unlikely to unveil its next console much earlier than that.

Meanwhile, PlayStation 4 may not arrive until 2014 or later, going by Sony’s repeated statements of support for the PlayStation 3. This faith might not be a bad idea, since the PlayStation 3 has been a solid performer in recent months. Supposedly, it has outsold both the Xbox 360 and the original Wii in September, losing out only to the 3DS.

Still, support for older consoles might not exactly mean that new models wouldn’t be unveiled. There’s actually a good chance that both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 would have more than a few years left in their life cycles before they get phased out completely.