What a depressing NPD.
Depending on how sales hold up, I can see MS dropping $50 at E3 or shortly after. I think they'll try to save the $99 price point to carry the final year of the 360 as much as it can.
I can also see Sony dropping again this year and possibly see a good surge if they drop down to $200. IMO it's likely Sony will launch their next system in 2013, so I'm curious to see how they handle the PS3's pricing next year.
I think Nintendo is going to just ride on the Wii as much as they can, dropping the price again as we get closer to the Wii-U's launch.
2) dev kits are already in the hands of the developers ( even third parties ) since many months .
and this i know for sure 
How do you know for sure? Just curious.
if they want to launch this year, they can , and they would have many games ready . Of course the most probable situation right now is a 2013 launch but nothing is sure right now. We will know @ E3 when the new system will be shown/announced
I really don't see this being the case. Unless the industry at large has tightened up on all the leaks, we should have heard or even seen something about a next gen game. By this point last gen, we have seen UE3, Condemned, Dark Sector and Oblivion. A specific system doesn't need to be revealed for 3rd party companies to show off what they have cooking, yet we haven't seen much outside a few tech demos.
Not to mention, many major studios either wrapped up their last current gen game last year or are planning to do so this year. So unless MS is happy with a bunch of current gen ports, which they shouldn't be, I don't see the next Xbox launching this year with no real software to justify it's existence.
What better way to launch a new system than an enhanced version of Halo 4 releases alongside the 360 version?
Launching with a Halo title, especially a last gen port, is pointless. People who would pick it up are likely those who were going to pick up the system anyways since very few people would fork over $400+ to play a last gen game (especially if they already have a 360).
As long as MS, Sony, and Nintendo market and price their next systems well, it will sell out at launch regardless if there is a halo, Uncharted, or Mario in the launch line up. A better strategy is to sell your new system on a solid launch line up and hold on to your AAA franchises until a year or two later to help bolster sales with those who are waiting for X game to release.
