Has the recession had a real impact on extending this generation?

[mibuokami]

Alterego-X said:

I would say no, the HD consoles' failure will only urge a quick change.

Of course, Sony and Microsoft would love to keep the current consoles for a decade, but decision is not theirs. If the consoles sell badly, they might keep them on the market, but they won't sell more. It's always the most popular and successful console that gets a chance to stay longer.

Look at the sales of ANY past console. The last years of the generation always had decreasing sales, even before the successor's announcement, when the consoles got old. What we are witnessing today is the effect of the recession, COMBINED WITH the natural ending of a generation.

While they have no reason for major processor upgrades, they still need to release something new, to keep the gamers interested.
Motion controllers are one way to go, but unless they take them seriously, with an actual relaunch, and powerful lineups of exclusives, they will not have an impact.

With respect to this topic, I think it has certainly impacted some long standing policy (especially from Sony) and will be a contributing factor to an extended generation.

With respect to your opinion, I disagree strongly, the decision to accept a new console into the market is and always has been at the hand of the consumer. Any new console being introduced into the market within the short term future will be strangled in the transition due to poor economic climate. Don't expect anything new to be announced until 2011 at the earliest and more time still before they are officially launched