Speaking with VG247, Todd Hollenshead, co-owner and CEO of id Software said that Microsoft is in the "best position" to release the first next-gen hardware.
"Somebody"s going to do it, and – to me – probably the player who"s in the best position to do so is Microsoft, because I do think they"ve recouped a lot of the costs of their console," said the exec, speaking at QuakeCon earlier this month.
"Maybe they"ll push the [Xbox 360] to year six – maybe seven – but I"ve got to believe that they"re already planning the transition now, and they have their eye on the ball as to what it is, because I think they see that there are some weaknesses that they can exploit with what"s going on at Sony."
Hollenshead continued to say that current machines still have a long way to go.
"I think that how the industry handles this next console transition is crucial. Because the PS3 install base is still a problem for Sony and for PS3 developers; the 360 and PS3 are still at price points that are well above what you"d consider to be mainstream or mass market. We still have very large titles that sell a lot of units across the different platforms. So, as we see that unfold, I think that is going to be the key thing to watch," he said.