(CNN) -- Gamers might have to wait at least another three years to before there's any update to their Xbox or PlayStation consoles.

Prominent gaming news site Kotaku on Thursday quoted multiple unnamed sources saying both Sony and Microsoft hope to extend the life of the current generation of consoles for as long as possible.

"Both MS and Sony are telegraphing to each other that they're delaying, to milk the current [generation] and fill in previous craters better," said a source Kotaku described as an "insider who has worked with the first-party companies like Sony and Microsoft."

Other sources told the site that 2014 is the target date for the two companies, both of which rolled out significant updates to their gaming consoles in 2010.

Microsoft introduced its Kinect system and Sony introduced Move. Both motion-activated systems that were rolled out at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

Such a delay would leave Nintendo as the only one of the big-three console makers expected to introduce a new product in the near future.

As Sony and Microsoft pushed their motion systems (in some ways an effort to catch up with Nintendo's motion-activated Wii) Nintendo stood pat in that space at E3. Instead, the company focused on software and its new handheld 3DS gaming system.

Observers expect Nintendo to announce, and possibly demo, an updated Wii at this year's E3.

As Kotaku notes, a wait until 2014 would make the Xbox 360 Microsoft's lead console for nine years and Sony's PlayStation 3 its top product for eight. That's an eternity in the world of consumer electronics.

In a recent briefing last Thursday, some comments by Sony CFO Masaru Kato were interpreted to mean that a successor to the PlayStation 3 is in the works.

Kato referenced development of future platforms, and the rumor mill inferred that Kato was referring to the PS4. That apparently wasn't the case.
Sony hasn't had it easy these last few months. With a net loss of nearly 260 billion yen, hacks across the globe, and a severely impaired PlayStation Network, Sony has been trying to fix itself.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Sony expects its R&D spending to rise from 428.6 billion yen to 460 billion yen. When asked as to why there's an increase in spending, Kato mentioned the R&D costs for a new portable gaming machine, dubbed the Next Generation Portable (NGP).

Kato also said that the PS3 still has life on the market. He followed that by saying, "But this is a platform business, so for future platforms, though I can't say what we are going to release when, our development work is under way." This was extrapolated, and spun into PS4 rumors across the web.

But Kato was not referring to the PS3, he clarified in an interview with the Wall Street Journal this past Monday. The NGP was the only product he specifically referenced.

"Any time we launch a product, from that day we already start thinking about the next one," Kato said. His statement about development of future platforms was "just a general statement," he said.

This year's E3 will see the unveiling of the Wii 2. There have been some thoughts that a new Xbox might be displayed, but that seems unlikely. Given Kato's recent statements, a new home console from Sony has zero possibility of being shown.

Where Sony will take its PlayStation line is unclear, but as it stands, the PlayStation 3 is a beast of a machine.