At a time when Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is more than seven years old now and Sony’s PlayStation 3 is going to complete six years later this month, gamers all around the world are eagerly waiting for the arrival of the next generation gaming consoles such as the Xbox 720 and the PlayStation 4.

While Nintendo's Wii U is reportedly all set to be released this coming week in a bid to kick start the era of the next-generation of consoles, industry stalwarts like Microsoft and Sony have been mum about their next-gen flagship products despite rumors that the Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4 are also expected to be released next year.

However, if a recent comment of Activision’s CEO Bobby Kotick is to be believed, there could be only one new console releasing next year.

“As we look to calendar 2013, we remain cautious in light of a challenging worldwide macroeconomic environment,” Kotick said while reporting Activision’s most recent earnings call held last week.

“We can’t really talk too much about next generation console plans, but I think it’s safe to say you have a Wii U coming out and there will be another new console coming and we expect that they’ll be very successful,” he added.

The question here is: What did Kotick refer by mentioning only one new console - Microsoft’s Xbox 720 or Sony’s PlayStation 4?

If we look into the console lifecycle, the Xbox 720 is more likely to see the light of day next year as Microsoft released it before Sony brought in the PS3.

On the other hand, considering Sony losing the existing generation to Microsoft, it won’t be a shocker if it releases the PS4 ahead of what Microsoft has planned so far. In addition, rumors have been rife that Sony will be introducing the “Orbis” just before E3 begins next year.

As per Activision’s report on its earnings for the third quarter of its current fiscal year, the company brought in $841 million in net revenue, including digital revenue of $427 million. The quarter surpassed estimates, rising 20 percent compared to last year and according to Activision CFO Dennis Durkin, as of September 30 (when the quarter ended), the company “had no debt and $3.4 billion in cash and investments.”

Based on the expectations on a potential record-breaking launch of “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” and constant success of both “Skylanders” and “Diablo,” Activision revised its expected earnings for the full 2012 calendar year from $4.3 billion to $4.57 billion, IGN has reported.

Apart from “Black Ops II,” Activision’s upcoming release slate includes “Transformers Prime” for Wii U in November, “The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct” and “Deadpool” in 2013.

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PS4 Call of Duty