At least 3-4 yrs. With the Kinect and Move already out, I'm sure there gonna bring out a slew of games for them. I'm not ready for a new console just yet and some of the other poo stabbers who think we do need to share some of there wealth.
2-3 years at most to be honest. As much as I understand that people do not see what else could be improved, no console is truly doing the 1080p output that modern HDTV's demand, and this can only be ignored for so long. Also, some new simple upgrades to the basic architecture will benefit both the consumer and developer, with less of a hardware bottleneck to ensure better performance overall. It may not "wow" console consumers as much as previous generations, but I feel that they should grow accustomed to a line of thought PC users are usually used to - effective upgrading at proper periods of time, simply to facilitate bigger and better things in the near future.
I will take a gamble to say that Nintendo will be the first to budge, primarily for it being the weakest of the three platforms tech-wise, though again they can simply wait for the other two to make a move first, as they have dominated the market quite effectively over the years. Not sure if they still retain this position today though. I should fact-check this, but again I am making a simple guess here.
Honestly, the graphics are good enough for me right now. I have no desire to spend hundreds of dollars for an incremental increase. An HD Nintendo system with improved controls would be nice, but PS3 and 360 are perfect as they are for the foreseeable future.
I don't think any new consoles will be coming out any time soon. I expect the next gen is a lot farther off then in the past as most "additions" thus far are integratable (i think i made that word up) into the current hardware. The only console I expect to see any new actual console out of is Nintendo and only because they haven't gone HD yet. That is, assuming they ever do (the WII is fine for what it is, when they put out real games the games are solid). The other consoles are taking a smart approach (imo) and sustaining the current hardware with integration into the current tech.
Granted, this is a gamble with how gaming usually goes but if it pays off they will do just as well with it as they would with coming up with something new (console wise I mean).
To answer the question though, never. Upgrading is so expensive. I hate it when new consoles come out =P
i would like the next generation to hold off as long as possible. We see the best games at the end of a console generation's life cycle so the longer the better. Generally the first year or so of a new console cycle is full of disappointing launch titles anyways so its not something i look forward to. Also if im buying the 3ds next year, i dont want to have to buy another console too soon.
@ShiftyMagician: I think your right about the 2 - 3 years thing. While many people have adopted HDTV's now, there are A LOT of people that still use SDTV's. However, I can completely see true 1080p gaming become far more relevant by 2012 - 2013. It's also worth mentioning that the majority of people who do have HDTV's probably don't have 1080p capable ones. I know my 26" goes up to 1080i but I keep it at 720p, because that is the standard resolution for all mainstream games today. Also, I think that while Nintendo's decision to stay with a standard definition format was a smart one, they inadvertently extended the length of time it would take for increased adoption of high definition sets.
The new consoles are coming out in 2012. It is whats been mentioned on the rumor-mill that was 1up Yours years ago. I have heard this spoken of casually on other pod casts more than a few times now; and I am sure that there are prototypes of systems floating around out there. I have heard too many rumors about Microsoft striking deals with ATI and I'm sure that those meetings two years ago with the Blu-Ray consortium were about next-gen, not now-gen.
As far as systems go. I wouldn't be surprised if the 3DS and PSP 2 become the last console cycle in the traditional sense. In 2011 we are going to see a Kinect hardware revision specifically for the release of Windows 8 and Nintendo is going to announce a Wii HD. In 2012 we are going to see the Wii HD release and end up nothing more than a better Wii. Then we will see the 360 re branded as the "X-box," and just like the Wii HD, be an upgrade with a bunch of new cool excuses for you to shell out for one (Blu-Ray, built-in Kinect with an HD- camera). The new X-box will then forever follow an Apple style release schedule where every year there is a new model, with the intentions that after two or three years you upgrade again - then again - then again, till you are locked in forever with tens of thousands of dollars in software and accessories as an excuse to stay with team X-box. Sony will follow Microsoft (who is following Apple), and eventually that will be the norm for everybody.
I dont really mind when it is but i hope it isnt for another 3 - 5 years
to be honest i regard the ps3 as being a next generation console; i've had the xbox for a couple years now,and my brother has the wii, so the next step up is ps3, i'm not on xbox live so having online multiplayer on ps3 is great, i dont have an HDTV so HD gaming would be really great and from what i'd regard as next gen games like MGS4/Uncharted 2 and a couple other major PS3 exclusives would also be cool
also can't afford a ps3 yet or for a long long time and a HDTV even longer, so it could just be a 'grass is always greener' kinda thing, or a distant hope, but ps3's my next generation console by comparison and to be honest if it is a 10 year console and they keep supporting it, thats probably it for me unless the next generation are truly next generation and give me some reason to play it or some game i really want to play
I think I'd like to see the first glimpse of a new console in Fall 2013, and then have it by October 2014. There is no reason move on at all with the economy so weak world-wide. Developers need to get stronger and keep using tools and skills they already have, console makers need to earn back some money form lean sales of the past four years, and I don't really see any tech that NEEDS to be implemented now. The console makers can certainly mock up and plan in dark rooms what might be possible to bring to market in 2014, but we need the time between now and then to make it happen.
Three good reasons to wait: 1) Let motion controls play out. Let the entire consumer market see what works and what doesn't, shake-out the best idea and cut off the dead wood ideas 2) Let 3D play out! It might gain more traction then we think, or it might fizzle out, either way let find out before the next hardware commits with or without it 3) Sadly, we haven't even gotten to the period of the current consoles where teams are making the BEST games. We need four more years so that a fruitful end harvest of great games can be made.
I'd be cool with 2012, the PC tech is almost good Enough to warrant a more powerful machine, and hard drives are cheap enough that they can slap terrabyte hard drives into them and provide an all digital option.
My personal estimate is that next gen consoles won't be released until 2014 (maybe if you don't include a WiiHD), but early reports are suggesting that they may come in 2012.
The next consoles will possibly come 2012 or 2013. But then after that it will take a LONG time until the next gen starts because Playstation 4 and Xbox 720 will probably be extremely strong machines with a hell load of features that will be very extendable through updates.
But in all honesty, whenever it happens, I would love to see MS pull off another ridiculous reveal like they did with the 'Slim' 360 at E3, have Don Mattrick up there talking about the next Xbox, and then suddenly he's all "And it'll be hitting shelves this afternoon!!", make it happen Don.
There really isn't anything these consoles can't do game-wise right now that makes me want for something new. I'm loving that I'm really getting my money's worth out of a console for once after several short-lived ones. The only area I see room for improvement is AI and game design, both something that's been an eternal issue with games that isn't really tied to the power of the console as much as developers would have you believe.
It would be cool if every game ran in 1080p at 60fps, even though that was claimed when these consoles came out it's still commonplace to cheese a high framerate by dropping down to a lower resolution. I think these consoles can reach that via optimization, and buying a new machine for that alone isn't really enough of a draw. I see these consoles going at least another 2-3 years with some of the motion stuff getting improved and incorporated into the machine rather than being additional hardware. I see Kinect eventually being the front of the 360, and the Move doing something similar.
If any new console comes out first, it will be a Nintendo product. Either an HD Wii or something crazy like augmented reality games with Mario jumping around your living room.
2013, I mean we are depending on motion controls to extend the life of consoles? What would extend videogames is more gpu power and more video memory imo. Not working with limitations and motion controls.
I'm not in a position to pay for new toys, but I'm finding the graphical difference between my consoles and my PC to be pretty severe. I would really like to see things get cleaned up. I would like to see things announced next year and released early 2012 (of course they will wait till November to catch the holiday sales)
But Sony and Microsoft seem pretty attatched to the current hardware, so I'm not expecting anything to be released until at least 2013, possibly 2014.
I'm not too sure really. There are some really great games coming out. It seems like there always that stretch of not so good games when a console is first released. I think that we have another good 2-3 years out of the current gen consoles.
360 and ps3 games have been suffering from pretty bad frame rates or tearing and load times are getting longer and longer. throw 3d on top of that and the frame rate just gets that much worse.
ehh... hopefully not soon, since I still can't afford even this generation yet. If it still costs $300 for a PS3 now, imagine what the price of a PS4 would be..
The next round will be announced at E3 2012, no question. Sony probably won't, but I'm almost positive Microsoft will go for the 1 year early gig again. I'd expect the next Xbox in 2013/14.
We'll probably see something of this nature by E3 2013, with references to new hardware around E3 2012. Some company is probably going to come out with a game that pushes the current generation hardware to the max before we see a new system, though.
Nintendo will surely be the first to drop the bomb, releasing day one profitable hardware that will put the 360/ps3 graphics to shame, that will force Sony and MS to do the same and release expensive consoles just for the sake of being ahead of Nintendo (who by that time will be printing money already with the 3DS) at least in the graphics department, Nintendo laughing at them with the 3DS and the "Wii 2" and Sony/MS fighting an stupid and endless battle to claim the hardcore gamer market without any profit at all.
" Nintendo will surely be the first to drop the bomb, releasing day one profitable hardware that will put the 360/ps3 graphics to shame, that will force Sony and MS to do the same and release expensive consoles just for the sake of being ahead of Nintendo (who by that time will be printing money already with the 3DS) at least in the graphics department, Nintendo laughing at them with the 3DS and the "Wii 2" and Sony/MS fighting an stupid and endless battle to claim the hardcore gamer market without any profit at all. "
Preferably some time when I have the money and it won't be like a nuke going off in the industry because of higher costs of development and lower returns.
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