We all know that the next Xbox and PlayStation will be revealed this year. The most obvious place for a reveal would be at the annual E3 show in June, but a Sony exec recently teased that we may see the PS4 even sooner than that.

Speaking to Chilean tech Web site, Emol, Sony’s VP of Home Entertainment, Hiroshi Sakamoto, might have said more than he should have in regards to the PS4 reveal. When asked if Sony would have anything to show this year, he said that the company will have a major announcement ready for either E3 in June or even earlier in May.

Now, it makes sense for the reveal to happen in June at E3. It’s the biggest gaming show on the planet, and there will be plenty of press present to spread the word that new consoles are on the horizon. The only thing that makes me think a May reveal is more likely is that game publishers are increasingly turning to private events for major announcement. Why? It’s easier to control the message and they get exclusive press coverage. At E3, Sony would be competing with Microsoft for press coverage and might even be labeled as the loser if the unveiling fails to impress.

That all being said, E3 is still going to be huge this year. Most likely, both Sony and Microsoft will announce their next consoles before the show and then focus solely on games at E3. This is the best possible scenario for both as software sells hardware. Sony and Microsoft have been pretty bad about exclusive software as of late with only hits from each company’s major franchises doing the heavy lifting. Expect plenty of new IP as well as both companies can’t rely on the likes of Uncharted and Halo to sell new consoles to everybody.

We’re still half a year away from E3 so all of this is still speculation. More information about the PS4 and next Xbox will surely be leaked between now and then as the hype machine for the next generation of consoles gets underway. 2013 is going to be a huge year for games, and not just for the big guys. Sony and Microsoft will have to floor the general public with something they’ve never seen before to distract them from the allure of cheaper consoles with a variety of cheap and free-to-play games.

[h/t: Trusted Reviews]