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If you've been enjoying the thick soup of rumour that's been swirling around the next Xbox console, it's time to reach for a crusty roll and start mopping up - Microsoft has set a date for the official reveal: May 21st. You've got until then to savour those last few spoonfuls of frenzied speculation. After that, it's on to the main course of delicious fact-steak drizzled with anticipation sauce.

For some, the next generation can't come soon enough. This year marks the Xbox 360's eighth birthday, which makes it positively mature ages in console years. To put it in perspective, when the 360 launched in November 2005, there was no such thing as an iPhone or iPad, Twitter was still something that canaries did and Facebook was an obscure website exclusively for American college kids.

Obviously the world has changed but how will Microsoft respond to the new landscape? An improved Kinect sensor will be built into the console, reckon some. It'll require an internet connection at all times and will block second hand games, say others.

Back in 2005, Microsoft managed to get a head start on SONY by launching the 360 way ahead of the PlayStation 3. This time around, it's SONY that has beaten Microsoft to the punch, revealing the features of the PlayStation 4, if not the actual console itself, earlier this year.

Microsoft has kept quiet so far, but now we know there's less than a month to go before everyone will have their cards on the table. Then the real fun begins.