More and more rumors begin to surface as we move closer to E3 this coming June.

Earlier this year, reports from Kotaku said the next Xbox will use a Blu-ray drive and lock out used games to some extent. Other reports said the hardware will mirror a PowerPC CPU married to a modified ATI Southern Islands 7000 series GPU.

However, a source told MCV the next Xbox is foregoing an optical disc drive entirely and is set for launch next holiday. Additionally, reports from last month say the next PlayStation console is codenamed Orbis and is also coming next holiday.

Today, VG247 reports the next Xbox will not only use a Blu-ray drive, it also requires a constant internet connection as an anti-piracy measure. They also say Kinect will come standard with the console. The website additionally says Sony wants to launch the next PlayStation ahead of Microsoft's console.

“Sony are completely in the belief that they have the jump on Microsoft this time,” the source said. “You should be watching the timing of next year’s E3 keynotes, and who’s going to go first.”

As for the Wii U, Nintendo is set to re-debut the console this E3. The website WiiUDaily says it obtained an internal memo from a Japanese retailer that states a potential release date for the console is November 18, 2012.

The date, assuming it's real, would line up with Nintendo's other product release windows, including the original Wii, which launched on November 19, 2006.

Both Microsoft and Sony have publicly stated there are no plans to show off new hardware at E3 2012.