• Posted September 4th, 2012 at 07:43 EDT by Mike Harradence
• 5 Comments

Sony and Microsoft’s next-generation systems are ‘spectacular,’ according to Frank Gibeau, president of EA Labels.

The executive has already spoken out about PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 in recent weeks, previously stating he expects both machines to arrive on store shelves in roughly a year’s time.

Now, speaking to GI.biz, Gibeau admitted that the current hardware cycle is dragging on a bit, and reckons the arrival of new consoles will stimulate growth for the videogames industry.

"When you launch a new IP it needs to do something really, really remarkable, and that's easier to do when you have a new set of technology that gives you novel capabilities. This is the longest cycle that any of us have ever seen, and we're at the point where a little bit of fatigue has set in, and people are wondering what they can possibly do next,” he said.

"I've seen the machines that we're building games for, and they're spectacular. Gen 4 hardware is a huge opportunity, and it's going to lead to a huge growth spurt for the industry.”

"The only thing that could really displace that is really high-end tablets and IPTV, and IPTV is further out than just a couple of years," continued Gibeau. "But those are the only two places I see that kind of risk occurring, and the good news for EA is that we're going to publish across all of them. We might ultimately find that to our advantage."

PS4 and Xbox 720 are speculated to arrive in shops in late 2013, though both machines have yet to receive an official reveal. However, it is expect Sony and Microsoft will announce their next-generation hardware at E3 next year.

Stay tuned to PSU.com for more details as we get them.