Update: EA has blasted the Develop report, with EA spokesman Jeff Brown calling it a ‘total fabrication.’ Youch!

Is Microsoft taking the wait and see approach when it comes to Nintendo’s new hardware? Apparently not, if a Develop report is to be believed. The site reports — citing a well-placed anonymous source — that next-gen Xbox hardware is already making the rounds at EA’s offices. The design is described as an early prototype, with the innards stored in a generic-looking PC shell.

In March, Microsoft IEB Design employee Ben Peterson let slip that the company was aiming for a 2015 launch. This was before Nintendo made its plans to debut a new console at E3 public, however. The same source says Microsoft has pegged a year-end 2012 launch for the console.

Eurogamer, citing a separate source, believes an E3 2011 unveil is highly unlikely – despite the launch target of next year. At any rate, if Microsoft is ramping R&D efforts on its next box, it’s possible that Nintendo won’t command as much of a lead as we once thought. Time will tell, however.

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