Next Xbox Being Revealed May 21; Circumstances Suggest EA Appearance

It came as a surprise that Electronic Arts had no presence at the big PS4 announce event back in February. Not only was there no Madden or FIFA to tout but the company sat it out completely. That will likely not be the case with Microsoft’s upcoming reveal event – whether rumored exclusivity of some sort is involved or not. 

The next Xbox is scheduled to be unveiled on May 21 at 10am PT. The event will air on Spike and be streamed through Xbox Live as well as other sources.

The abnormal early marketing push by EA Sports for current-gen titles that land later in the year with NHL 14 and FIFA 14, along with a precise schedule for the 360/PS3 version of Madden NFL 25 that dances around the Microsoft event and E3 (June 10-13), makes it apparent that the time frame from May 21 through mid-June will see a heavy next-gen focus.

It’s surely no coincidence that the current-gen info release for Madden includes news on May 20 – the day before the Microsoft reveal – and then doesn’t come back with another until June 24. EA will be attempting to somehow avoid overshadowing the 360/PS3 releases and creating the perception they are sub-par when they’ll ultimately be the ones that sell far more copies. That means it’s best not to expect a ton on Madden or FIFA there – but instead a gimpse at the general vision and capabilities that they’ll have on hand for the transition.