What do you think the next-generation will be like?

 Sony = PS4 is released, is entirely 3D and completely overpriced
Microsoft = Xbox 720 is released with a bunch of sub-standard FPS titles
Nintendo = Releases a worthy successor to the GameCube for hardcore gamers
Sega = Re-enters the market with Dreamcast 2, dominates everything

Singleplayer will get a lot shorter, game prices will go up.

Mostly the same as this generation. Just with better graphics.

Day 1 digital releases!!!

I'd replace Sega with Apple making there way to the console Market, and I would also say the next Nintendo Console is going to be called the "Wii 2". The Wii is to well known to everybody to go and give it and new name that people who don't keep up with game news won't know it. PS4 will have 3D Support with all tittles and Playstation Move will have more games available that support the technology. The new Xbox will be the first to launch and will be cheaper than the PS4, Kinect would have more games available for it. Apples console would be hella expensive and would launch with all console compatible games, and the games/Apps 100% downloadable.

" Day 1 digital releases!!!

" Singleplayer will get a lot shorter, game prices will go up. More of a game's content will be sold via DLC.
Modding tools and map editors will be extinct.
3D will go away (again).
Motion controls take some limited form for practical everyday use.
Real-time radiosity will be commonplace in game engines.
Indie gaming will see a slow, but steady rise. Apple and Facebook will dominate casual gaming.
Episode 3 won't still be out.
"

" @overbyte said:

" Singleplayer will get a lot shorter, game prices will go up.

More of a game's content will be sold via DLC.

Modding tools and map editors will be extinct.

3D will go away (again).

Motion controls take some limited form for practical everyday use.

Real-time radiosity will be commonplace in game engines.

Indie gaming will see a slow, but steady rise. Apple and Facebook will dominate casual gaming.

Episode 3 won't still be out.

"

He said next generation, not what happening right now :P "

The continued rise and dominance of DL games.  Why pay $60 for disc based games, and get 12 hours of gameplay, when you can DL a game and get 5-10 hours for $20. 

It'll suck

The systems will be more app-based which will enable the manufacturers to let their consoles be "fresh" longer and be more useful at the same time while maybe squeezing a little bit more money out of them.
Cloudbased gaming will grow and be as important as games bought in stores.

I think it would be interesting if one company totally screws things up and lands a total failure. It looks like we could get three nearly similar consoles which would suck.

• Graphical output something like that. It won't be much of a push from the current gen, but it will be more in-line with what current mid-range PC's are capable of. 
• I think a huge majority of the content will be downloadable.
• It will all be expensive. 

Digital download  day 1 with the disk release is a must. I wouldn't rule out sony making a full deal with steam to power their download service since they're already in a relationship with steamworks. Xbox may have have even tighter integration with windows 8 if they were telling truth about focusing on gaming. And I really hope this new nintendo console is built in mid for the next genration of sony and microsoft consoles and not competing the ps3 and 360, otherwise  it will be the wii all over again when they launch.

Everything attached to your gamercard will carry over to the next xbox, games, acheivments, friends (as any as you can), more integration with social media, blu ray discs, games on demand for new day one titles (can be preloaded with time intervals for those with ISP issues) 1080p video, 3D capabilities supported for prominently. Kinect with every new console, 1 tb of storage, save games are both in the cloud and in your usb.

Sony will make an overpriced 3D toaster.

Microsoft will make a console-free console.

Nintendo will make WEEHD that will steal the hardcore users.

PC will make a MAC.

And Sega re-enters the market and get booted out after 2 hours because of poor economy.

It'll be like a cutting edge PC from about 2009.

-Sony and Microsoft will market the next gen of graphics as the most incredibly mind blowing experience, it won't be.

It will be the generation of flying consoles, hoovering over the furniture. AWESOME!

It's gonna look a lot like a PC in the living room, except every time you buy something the hardware manufacturer gets a cut (because 'console' gamers hate freedom, obviously).

They have so much additional non-gaming functionality nowadays that it's already pretty tenuous to consider them Game Consoles anymore.  They're basically Personal Computers (except with a focus on entertainment rather than work) and they're only gonna keep moving further in that direction.  "It Only Does Everything" as Sony say.  It would probably be smart (and accurate) to consider these things as Personal Entertainment Systems or some such next time around.  I could see Apple competing in this market, but it will be on those terms, not as an Apple Game Console.

I think we're gonna have a situation where a status quo is reached on performance by all of the main players (could be 360 level, but probably one more jump) and then the competition will be about functionality, accessibility, hardware price and taking a cut from every game, movie, TV show or song that is bought and played on the system.  Retailers of all of these products should be worried - they're only going to become less relevant as the Digital Revolution goes on. 

If there is another jump in hardware coming, and assuming it doesn't come in the next year or two, I could easily see them offering a substantially cheaper digital-only SKU (alongside a traditional SKU).  Once they've sold you a digital-only box, you have no choice but to get all of your content through them.  At that point they've basically put a store front in your living room and told you that you aren't allowed to shop anywhere else.  It's a license to print money.  They have you by the balls, and once they have enough of you to kill retail, they have the whole market by the balls.  How much is that monopoly on your content purchasing worth to them?  Probably enough to make the digital-only SKU like $100 cheaper than the regular SKU, which is probably ample incentive to convince people they can manage without being able to buy content at retail.

I hope the next generation of consoles is at such a high quality of gameplay and presentation that I can't currently imagine what they'll be like.

In a word; expensive.

I really doubt that either MS or Sony will push hardware as much as they pushed the current gen. They tried to match PCs in strength and ended up losing billions due to poor price stepping and loss on manufacturing. Both the PS3 and 360 suffered unprecedented levels of hardware failure due to trying to pack too much in too small a space with too flimsy components. I'm not sure if they've even recouped that money yet. 

Things we might see:

• a web browser that is actually usable for browsing the web and doesn't crash or complains "out of memory" on every second page you visit
• serial numbers on games (maybe on the disc itself without need to enter them manually) to kill the used game market
• motion controls by default everywhere (hopefully not gimped by lack of buttons or analogsticks)
  
• more CPU/GPU power of course, but I don't expect gigantic jumps in graphics, just a few more polygons here and there, better AA and stuff like that (i.e. Unreal next gen demo looked nice, but nothing mind blowing compared to todays games)
• maybe compatibility between portables and big consoles for the low-end games, i.e. play XBL/PSN games on your PSP successor or phone
• maybe BDXL (100GB discs) as format, but I don't see that much need for huge storage on discs due to the length of the games (i.e. loading 100GB at 30MB/s takes an hour, not good when your game is only four hours long)
• all games available via online store in addition to physical media is certainly likely
• more social networking like stuff in the online support
• Wii2 will be a "this generation" console, not a next gen console
  

I am guessing that they will release a new console either in 3 or 4 years honestly. It does not seem like a good idea to jump into a new console when devs are still learning how to program for the old one.

Steam will enter the console market. (Insane Idea... yes, but imagine a console with steam online on it and you can play PC games at max on them, I would buy it!)

Videogames will stop caring about graphics, let's be honest people, Unreal engine 3 and 4 look amazing, I don't think people will care about graphics anymore after a bit of amazement from them, you can barely get much better than them.

PS4 is going to be less powerful than the Xbox720, thus cheaper and easier to program games for.

WiiHD is gonna be like our current 360 we have now. so, good things should arise.

Xbox720 will be more powerful then anyone else, but highly expensive.

Thankfully however, you can get your gamertag into the new system with all the stuff you have boughten on the 360 and it will work in the new Xbox.

prices would be around the same, just due to the fact that charging 80 bucks for a videogame is just freaking insane and no one will ever buy new.

I just hope they'll be less laggy than the current consoles. FPS hickups annoy me more than subpar graphics.

Multiple consoles will come out, I will buy more than one but not all of them.

The PS4 will have suction pads so you can stick it to your toilet while you play in 3D with a Move 2. Don't forget to wipe.

Why is everyone so pessimistic? Gaming has done (almost) nothing but improved since the last generation of consoles.

it will be the same just like this generation just better graphics.

shorter single player, more multiplayer, a little more 3D graphics in some games.

it's going to be just like this generation. i can see digital distribution to some games that are going to be $70 dollars a game. we are all going to be like why so expensive and developers won't have anything to say about it.

"Sega = Re-enters the market with Dreamcast 2, dominates everything "

Smell Paks will become the next big thing. Insert the Pak into the bottom of your controller, so when an event happens like you crawl into a sewer, the Pak sprays a light mist that is scented to the proper stink of whichever sewer you're in. Full immersion, baby!

4d will be introduced and the controllers will include an automated spray bottle and vibrating mats that you sit on.  the market will be oversaturated with games close to the ocean

" Why is everyone so pessimistic? "

That I'll be dead by 2018.

You are the console.  

My guess for the dates:

E3 2011 - Wii successor revealed (I'd bet its name will have 'Wii' in it; it's just such a strong and recognised 'brand' it would be foolish to abandon it)
E3 2012 - A new XBOX and a PS4 revealed (at the earliest)
Q4 2012-Q1 2013 - Wii successor released
Q4 2013-Q1 2014 - X360 successor and PS4 released

As far as the capabilities go, I'd really like the big 3 to do something innovative with their new consoles (like the Wii did back in 2006). The Wii successor is rumored to have a new controller input (the touchscreen) so it has that covered. I would, however, expect Sony and MS to do something creative as well (taping a Move 2 and Kinect 720 to the bundles doesn't count). I want the new console not only to have more "Umph" and better graphics, but something additional as well.

A good online service is a must, in all three cases. I want to see day 1 full-game digital releases from at least Sony and Microsoft and a good online store in Nintendo's case. I honestly couldn't care less about the whole ESPN-Netflix-TV stuff availability. I also want to have cross-game chat, easier menu navigation, friends managing, etc.

As far as the visual capabilities go... just make the games look good. I want a good game to achieve near Uncharted 2 level graphics more easily than it is possible now.
Almost full 3D support is obvious in Sony's case, I don't really expect neither MS nor Nintendo to take a step in that direction.

" I really doubt that either MS or Sony will push hardware as much as they pushed the current gen. They tried to match PCs in strength and ended up losing billions due to poor price stepping and loss on manufacturing. Both the PS3 and 360 suffered unprecedented levels of hardware failure due to trying to pack too much in too small a space with too flimsy components. I'm not sure if they've even recouped that money yet. 
"

Microsoft will continue down the micro transaction rout.  new ways to spend money.

"

I am guessing that they will release a new console either in 3 or 4 years honestly. It does not seem like a good idea to jump into a new console when devs are still learning how to program for the old one.

 

Steam will enter the console market. (Insane Idea... yes, but imagine a console with steam online on it and you can play PC games at max on them, I would buy it!)

 

Videogames will stop caring about graphics, let's be honest people, Unreal engine 3 and 4 look amazing, I don't think people will care about graphics anymore after a bit of amazement from them, you can barely get much better than them.

 

PS4 is going to be less powerful than the Xbox720, thus cheaper and easier to program games for.

 

WiiHD is gonna be like our current 360 we have now. so, good things should arise.

 

Xbox720 will be more powerful then anyone else, but highly expensive.

 

Thankfully however, you can get your gamertag into the new system with all the stuff you have boughten on the 360 and it will work in the new Xbox.

 

prices would be around the same, just due to the fact that charging 80 bucks for a videogame is just freaking insane and no one will ever buy new.

"

You really like Nintendo, don't you?

Unreal engine 3 and 4 look amazing, I don't think people will care about graphics anymore after a bit of amazement from them, you can barely get much better than them."

" Why is everyone so pessimistic? Gaming has done (almost) nothing but improved since the last generation of consoles. "

I guess I will be the first one to say it:

I honestly have no clue what they will be doing with the next generation of consoles other than the general "improved hardware/software".  I just hope it comes soon.  After this year, I think the consoles are going to get kinda stale.

In space