While this generation is anticipated as being a short one, I think there are various reasons as to why this generation could be as long if not longer than the last one.

So far Sony is killing it and we can almost assume that they've reached a 50% market share by now. Now we all know Sony has a sort of guarantee that they'll support a console for 10 years, and financially it would make sense for them to do that, this generation seeing as how the PS4 is a somewhat mini PS2 and killing it of early wouldn't make sense as they're not gurenteed that the PS5 will bring in as much revenue.

Microsoft has no reason to abandon this generation while the PS4 is still Sony's main console. Why should they? Their doing fine as is, sure they may have an upper hand but considering the gaming division isn't Microsoft's main business focus, I'm sure they are more than happy with what they have and at the end of the day why risk producing a new console when the PS4 may still take some of it's sales and then to only have Sony release a new console which just might reduce it's sales even more.

Looking at Nintendo, I highly doubt their next console will be stronger than the PS4 and Xbox One and so I think that while it will be considered as a ninth generation console it will more than likely compete directly for most of it's life cycle with eight gen consoles and so eight generation ( 2 vs 1 ) will remain as the main console generation.

Discuss . Do you think this generation will end quickly or will it live a long and fruitful life?

No more than 6 years.

Long

It's a hard question. At least on the home console market, Sony and the PS4 havea stronger grip on the industry than MS and Nintendo combined, so they're not in a hurry to change their hardware. I'm sure Sony will be the last one to introduce their new systems, they need it the least. And, opposite to the PS3, they're getting tons of profits from the beginning. I doubt the Vita will get a succesor, though. Maybe it will have a lifespam similar to the GameBoy, but if there's someday a Vita 2, it will be a mobile phone with buttons to game on.

I keep watching Microsoft trying to go for a bigger share of the PC market, and that will affect the XBone. I know the XBone is the fastest selling console of theirs, but if MS thinks it's easier and more profitable just fighting for PC dominance over console dominance, I doubt there will be a XBtwo.

Nintendo will update their hardware soon, maybe for a more powerful system or for something as powerful as the PS4 but cheaper. I hope the Fusion idea gets done, but I don't know the kind of tech they would need to make it happen.

Only Nintendo needs to update soon, really. Whether is the PS4 dominating as it is or the XBone getting less and less atention from MS in pursue of PC, this will be an interesting gen.

It depends entirely on what Nintendo does. If they shoot for the core crowd with a serious attempt, we could see Microsoft jump ship to the 9th gen fairly early.

Personally, I don't see Microsoft making a 9th gen console. Their dev teams will likely shift toward Windows 10 development and eclipse the Xbox brand fairly soon. It really depends on how Windows 10 is adopted. If it takes off like expected, then why even support the Xbox brand with consoles anymore? I could see a shift to Xbox PCs at that point.

Hell, even Sony's future depends on what Nintendo does and whether it succeeds. If the next Nintendo console is more powerful than the 8th gen and can manage third party support, then Sony will be challenged to jump to the PS5 sooner than they'd like. If we're even going to get a PS5 that is; again, Sony could go the PSNow route and shift development that way to increase their install base dramatically. I doubt Sony going this way though, since PSNow has all but failed thus far and they'd have a much better profit margin on a dedicated gaming machine.

Like I said, Nintendo's next move determines the future here. Sony and MS are toying with VR, and Sony streaming/MS Windows integration, because they're both unsure of where they're going next, game-wise. They're just trying everything out trying to find the next big thing.

Hard to say, but I'll guess that it would be about the same as Gen 7

I think it will be longer now. I stated before updates through the Internet can prolong a system now where you do not to create a whole new console for new product

I can picture the PS4 legging out much like how PS2 did into the early years of the 7th generation.
Nintendo has been consistently on a 5-6 year cycle for hardware refreshes for home consoles for a long time. 2017/2018 seems like very reasonable timing for them to produce a new system.

I give this gen 6 years till replacement (4 for the Wii U).

It will be no longer than 5-6 years, and we will see a bigger shift to other platforms much much faster. MS will commit to the XBox brand but it will merge even more with their other HUGE platform in PC/Tablets.