Console Lifespans, the longest, shortest and inbetween.

[SnowWhitesDrug]

frybread said:

SnowWhitesDrug said:
well off the topic of definitions and onto questions :p I think what happened with the short life of the 5th gen was the fact that 3D graphics were increasing really fast at that stage and what was on the consoles was getting outdated. The 6th gen is similar.

I think after the initial 2D phase where game play seemed to rule the roost, 3D took over and said "big and beautiful is better" And so a rush to the 6 generation and then the 7th were made to keep up with technology. this is just what I think though, based on my thoughts now, could be totaly off.

this generation I think the video game industry has hit an all time high and no one specific developer is rushing into the next gen or making threats of bringing out an all powerful console designed to thwart the plans of the competition.

It's almost as if all the developers have a secret agreement not to release a new console any time soon. The wii is going to sell for ever! and so nintendo has no need to rush the market to the next gen. And both sony and ms have built powerhouses designed to carry them for quite a few years where as last gen and the gen before that the consoles didnt quite have that lasting processing power that would keep up with gamers wants and needs.

 

Finally something other than definitions :) hahahah vg chartz needs more on topic responses thas all I can say lol

Good call on the weird 5th gen, and I agree.  3D graphics were improving quickly back then - the early to mid 90's is also when PC gaming became very popular, probably because it kept up with rapidly changing graphics technology while consoles were stuck with giant polygons. ahh yes! pc gaming! completly forgot about that! yeah that would have been a driving force! it validates my thoughts too which is good!

I agree this gen will last a long time, but keep in mind the 6th gen isn't dead yet.  I expect Xbox to die this year, but how long will PS2 and Dreamcast keep breathing?

And since Dreamcast will always be owned by the Sega diehard, but the Sony diehard can upgrade to PS3, will Dreamcast keep pushing out new games longer than PS2?  I suspect it will. lol I had no idea they still made games for xbox and dreamcast, It seams from whats been said here though that the ps2 will have a much longer life then the small dribs and drabs the dream cast gets. I wonder what sort of sales these dream cast games get. The ps2 games will slowly taper off, but if they go the way of the dream cast we could still be seeing new ps2 games (or wii ports lol) well past this generation!