It's been 5 years, and no ones talking 'next gen' yet.

[diskoboy]

Usually, after a console generation 5 year mark, we begin hearing talk about the new consoles in development.

It's been pretty quiet, here on the gaming front, lately.

When do you think we'll start hearing talk of a new Xbox, or a PS4? Nintendo is talking about upgrading the Wii for HDTV's, but thats not much of an upgrade, IMO... It's just bringing the Wii up to current gen standards.

What gives?

[Flippy8490]

I think the game companies have kind of hit a wall in terms of pushing new hardware on people. The game platforms available are pretty powerful as they are, so pushing a console that can only do a few extra things (i.e very minimally improved graphics/processing) would not be profitable for the companies because nobody would be inclined to buy it.

For example, the jump from 8-bit to 16 was HUGE in the 90's, and the jump from the N64/PS1/Dreamcast era to the GCN/XBOX/PS2 was a big improvement in processors/video. But the current gen to something newer would be a very small change, so....why fix what isn't broken?

...or something like that lol.

[Snapple]

I don't really have room for a new console. I hope we kinda stop right here.

If they could fix the failure rate on the 360s, PS3 and Xbox 360 can stay around as long as they want, as far as I'm concerned.

[BHvrd]

I think the game companies have kind of hit a wall in terms of pushing new hardware on people. The game platforms available are pretty powerful as they are, so pushing a console that can only do a few extra things (i.e very minimally improved graphics/processing) would not be profitable for the companies because nobody would be inclined to buy it.

For example, the jump from 8-bit to 16 was HUGE in the 90's, and the jump from the N64/PS1/Dreamcast era to the GCN/XBOX/PS2 was a big improvement in processors/video. But the current gen to something newer would be a very small change, so....why fix what isn't broken?

...or something like that lol.

I agree. I would not be inclined to purchase anything "new" at this point as what I have now is still perfectly fine. Another 5 years and i'll feel like my investment was worth what I have spent. I also agree that "technological limits" have been pretty much tapped out atm.

I don't think they have plans of necessarily offering new hardware as much as "upgrading" the current genertaion. We still have Natal and PS3 Motion Control around the corner. If anything Nintendo needs to do catchup at this point.

[ncman071]

the only real "next gen" talk i've heard is just the new 360 perephrial...natal or whatever....it looks neat with not using controllers at all, but just seems more gimmecky than anything else.

personally, i dont really want any new system to come out right now...seems to me that the 360/ps3/wii are putting out some really good games and i just want that trend to continue....i'd like to see improvments in the software than the hardware.

[badinsults]

Yeah, basically Microsoft's Natal project is considered their "next" console launch, though it uses the same hardware as the Xbox 360. I imagine it will be the same with Sony's motion controller, though who knows how that will pan out. I'm sure that Nintendo will push out some sort of updated console that pushes the Wii to be able to go 720p, but I don't think they are in any rush considering that the Wii's sales are still up there.

Basically, it comes down to Nintendo being right about the last generation, that consoles have pretty much maxed out the computing power necessary to make games look better. From now on, it is all about other hardware aspects, which is why they made the Wii motion controller.

[joshnickerson]

Lord, it just seems like we started this generation (waiting a year after launch to buy a DS and a Wii probably didn't help matters). With graphical power pretty much as far as it can go, there really isn't a reason to introduce another generation in the near future.

Maybe in another five years or so.

We still have Natal and PS3 Motion Control around the corner. If anything Nintendo needs to do catchup at this point.

Actually, it seems like Sony and Microsoft are the ones trying to catch up with Nintendo.

[NoahsMyBro]

I'm right now trying to figure out how to justify purchasing a used PS3, so I haven't even joined in with THIS generation yet.

On the one hand that makes me want the industry to NOT forge ahead, as I'd feel left behind and have fewer options regarding buying media and accessories for my system.

On the other hand, if they'd release new systems I'd probably be able to purchase a PS3 for a lot less.

Pros and Cons everywhere.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Wii is dead. Didn't you hear? Nintendo will be software only by the end of the year.

Really, we don't need this 'next gen' crap talk... remember the past? PS3 was supposed to kick everything's ass in existence, guaranteed.

[Damaramu]

Yeah, I'm not ready for "next gen" yet. I'm quite satisfied with what is available NOW. I'm rocking the Wii/360 combo and looking to pick up a PS3 soon...so yeah. Not ready, not by a long shot.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

People say they woudn't buy a new system right now, but I bet if they saw something that was much more graphical than the current gen they would buy it in a heartbeat.

I do think there's been quite a slowdown in the jump to new systems. There's many reasons that I an think of. Hasn't Silicon Valley slowed down in their advancement of processors? Also, I think with the abillity to "upgrade" the systems through system updates, they can advance things with improved dashboards and such. Also, there's so much money being made with the online play, downloadable games, etc. that it would be exhausting and costly to move people to a new system.

I wish Sega would jump in and surprise everyone with the Sega Phoenix system, packed with Nights Into Dreams 3, but thats just a fanboy's dream.

[duffmanth]

I think Sony helped put an end to the traditional 5 year console life cycle with the PS1 and PS2, and that's why there hasn't been much talk about "next gen" right now. This current generation of console gaming is going to last longer than previous ones I think? Because the current systems are so computer like now and have loads of power and online capabilities, I think their life cycles will be extended through software updates and hardware additions like Natal and motion sensing.

There's so many people that have just got onboard with this console gen, that it be would stupid for a new round of consoles to launch any time soon. The PS3 is just starting to hit its stride in the last 6 months or so, the 360 has Natal on the way and still has tons of games coming. I think the Wii is going to be the system that is going to be replaced first though. It doesn't have the power and capabilities to compete with the PS3 and 360, and as HD becomes more the norm, I think the Wii is gonna get left behind.

[heybtbm]

Just release a HD Wii with decent storage and I'll be happy. The 360 and PS3 are perfect as is.

Besides, developers can barely afford to make current-gen games right now. Why would they want to push those costs even higher? Nope, "Next Gen" isn't happening anytime soon.

[Trebuken]

I think then upgrade to the Wii will be a new, fully compatible, console, with HD. They need more power under the hood. Likely to include something innovative as well.

I unfortunately suspect Natal will not wait fot the next Xbox, but will arrive for Christmas 2010, with perhaps Fable 3...

Consoles profit most in after the first couple of years and I think after the costs and hardware failure rates of this generation we will see an attempt to maximize that potential, and prepare for the costs of the next gen consoles -- what happens to Natal if you add in 3D gaming? Will it still integrate well? Maybe the two techs will be the next gen...

Anyways I can wait as well. I'm a PC Gamer and current games are not really challenging the hardware the way they should be - and since I current PC trumps a console (espeacially with nVidia's new CPU's coming) I think developers have not maxed out what they can do this generation yet.

E3 is not that far away...

[diskoboy]

Wow. What weirds me out, is I was totally expecting all the "I'm not ready for the next gen, yet" comments.

I'd give it about another 2 years, myself.

My guess is Sony still has a good 3-4 year shelf life with the PS3, and I assume if MS does start to work on another console, they'll wanna do riggorous testing to make sure they dont have the failure rates of the 360. So I'm sure they're gonna spend alot of time on the design process.

[calistarwind]

A lot of it as people have touched on is that all these companies minus Nintendo are just now getting into the black on selling their systems. Software companies are laying people off because there are too many games flooding the market and people just don't have the money to take a chance on the uncertain titles. Most people just this past year were able to jump into this generation of gaming and so to them it is year one with a ton of gaming to catch up on.

I see it first hand everyday and it is getting harder to justify an extra dollar here and there. Nintendo is going the route they know best and making tons of add ons that never see more than one or two games of use. I think were beginning to see more of that effort from the big 3 because it is all mostly profit.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

You gotta figure with the size and resources of these companies, that they are creating the next system right now, in some back room somewhere. They'd be stupid not to continue to develop their technology in the face of such competition.

Of course, if that info leaked out, they'd stunt their own sales as people would say "I'm holding out for the Wii 2."

By the way, I think the next generation will be 100% download-only games, not discs or cartridges. No more box art, etc.

I also want to point out that I have never played a PS3 or an X-Box 360. I'm 95% old school with a little bit of Wii added in.

[kedawa]

I'm surprised so many here actually think that the current gen systems are somehow the apex of computer technology. The 360 and PS3 were bog standard hardware the day they were released, and the Wii... well, we all know it was never anything but a modified Gamecube.

Most games can't even produce 1080p visuals at 60fps, which means they aren't even taking full advantage of the HD video format. 3D shutter glasses, which seem to finally be making real inroads in the market, require a steady 120Hz framerate. Nevermind the fact that all of the lighting and surface rendering techniques being used in games today are just clever tricks designed to hide how simplistic the graphics rendering really is.

Graphics aren't the only thing that would be improved by having more powerful processors, either. Most modern games have adaquate graphics anyway, but the physics and AI are a joke. I don't see the point of striving for photorealistic visuals when the actual mechanics of the games have barely improved over what we had on the last generation of systems. Most games that are touted as realistic are just heavily scripted and have pre-rigged models for anything destructible. With the right middleware and powerful enough hardware, game development might actually get easier in the next generation.

All of the advanced motion tracking gimmicks that are being hyped at the moment take their share of processing resources in order to function quickly enough for gaming, too.

I'm not in any rush to have a new generation of consoles, mostly because I hate what the current generation has done to gaming, but there is ample technological justification for an upgrade.

[XYXZYZ]

Also consider that Microsoft packed 360 with the technology required to take gaming to the next technical level, and the damn things just didn't work and they melted themselves. PS3 brought us the latest gaming technology in a much more stable package, but the damn things were $600.00.

If the market does require that new consoles debut every five years, I shudder to think of the clusterfuck of failures and ridiculous prices the new hardware would have trying to outdo the last generation this early.

[Flack]

Sixth-gen gave us DVD games and online play. Seventh-gen (current) gave us Blu-ray/HD-DVD, HD video, and default wireless controllers. I'm not really sure what Eighth-Gen plans on offering us. I almost see a "7.5" gen coming, where everything equals out -- Microsoft and Sony add motion controls like the Wii's, and the Wii adds HD video like the PS3/360. That's pretty common, I think. I remember a lot more exclusive titles near the beginning of the sixth-gen race than near the end.

But yeah, I'm not sure what next-gen is supposed to offer us. Better graphics? I don't really think the problem with the current-gen is the graphics. I know there's a push right now with 3D stuff but that's a fad. I could see more interactivity but that's not enough of a technology push to launch another generation of consoles.

I know it doesn't always work like this, but I paid twice as much for my launch PS3 as I did for my launch PS2, so I'm kind of hoping it remains current-gen twice as long. Wishful thinking, I know.