Details of Nintendo's next-generation games console, code-named Revolution, will most likely be unveiled next May, according to reports.

The Revolution is expected to go on sale at the end of the year, but very few details about the machine have been released.

It is thought that the device may be unveiled at Nintendo's pre-E3 press conference on May 9, according to Games Spot News.

In September, Nintendo unveiled the controller that will be central to the Revolution.

The Japanese-based firm will break with more than 20 years of video game history by abandoning the traditional controller held with two hands and replacing it with an all-new freehand-style unit held with one hand.

The Revolution is Nintendo's answer to Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3.

The Xbox 360 was launched in the US on November 22 and will be released in Europe and Japan in December.

Microsoft has ambitious plans for its new machine. The US-based firm said it expects to sell 10 million units of the Xbox 360 within 14 months of the launch.

The PlayStation 3, which was announced last May, is expected to be in US shops early next year.

Nintendo reported net profit of 36.6bn yen ($308m) for the six months ending September 30, a 21 per cent drop from the same period a year ago.

The company said that the cost of developing the Revolution was to blame for its poor financial performance.