Nintendo will announce its next-generation games console, Revolution, next May, the company has revealed.

The full disclosure will take place just ahead of the E3 games industry bash in Los Angeles, where Nintendo this year gave a glimpse of Revolution's design but provided few hard details.

In September, Nintendo unveiled the movement-tracking controller the console will ship with.

With the Xbox 360 now on sale in the US, and coming to Europe this coming Friday - the Japanese debut will take place later this month - attention is turning to rival products from Sony and Nintendo.

Sony's PlayStation 3 was announced last May, and is expected to start shipping at the end of Q1 2006 at the earliest. Even then it's likely solely to target the Japanese market, if past PlayStation launches are anything to go by.

Nintendo's pre-E3 announcement suggests Revolution will appear later in the year - presumably, like the 360, timed for the Thanksgiving and Christmas buying period. ®